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PREP VOLLEYBALL: Marshall pushes past Huskies in five

Photo by Jake Przytarski Members of the Marshall volleyball team celebrate after scoring a point during their match against Jackson County Central on Thursday. The Tigers defeated the Huskies 3-2.

MARSHALL – The Tigers pulled out a gutsy Big South Conference victory over the Jackson County Central Huskies on Thursday that would take five hard-fought sets to decide. In the end, the Tigers rallied back from a disappointing fourth set loss to win convincingly in the fifth to hand the Huskies their first conference loss of the season.

Wasting no time in setting the tempo, the Tigers went on an early seven point run to begin the first set and found themselves ahead 7-3 before the Huskies were forced to call a timeout. Following the break in the action, JCC bounced back and went on a run of their own to knot it up at 8-8. Both teams continued to go back and forth the rest of the way before Marshall began to separate themselves in the latter stages of the set. The Tigers would go on to win it 25-20 to take a 1-0 lead.

Picking up where they left off, the Tigers would once again seize momentum early with Mia Schnaible putting an exclamation mark on an impressive early start with an ace. Unfortunately, the Huskies began to climb back into the set and began putting together some strong runs that gave them an 18-13 lead late. Continuing to pile it on, JCC kept a sizeable lead the rest of the way en route to knotting the match up at one apiece with a 25-18 win.

The back and forth trend that told the story of the first two sets continued into the third with the Tigers responding in a big way in the third set with a six point run that gave them a 10-4 lead early. With a comfortable cushion, Marshall maintained control of the set, including a key ace by Erica Jones along the way to make it 16-7. Not looking back, the Tigers cruised to a 25-12 victory to take the lead in the match.

Carrying the momentum generated from the previous set, the Tigers were in control early with a 9-3 lead that prompted the Huskies to take a timeout to regroup. The timeout was an effective one, as JCC went on a tear before evening the score at 12 apiece. The two teams would trade leads before the Huskies went on a five-point run that put their foot in the driver’s set the rest of the way. The Tigers fought admirably to stay alive, but were in too deep as they dropped the set 25-18, leaving the match to be decided in a fifth and final set.

Undeterred by the result of the previous set, the Tigers dug deep in the fifth set with a loud contingent of Marshall fans providing their support. Earning the first three points of the set followed by a four-point rally provided a comfortable lead in a pressure-packed situation that did not rattle the Tigers and gave them an 8-1 lead. With their backs against the wall, the Huskies did all that they could to slow down the freight train of momentum that was coming their way, but were unable to slow down the surging Tigers as they won comfortably 15-4 to earn the victory.

With the win, the Tigers improve to 14-3 on the season and become the only unbeaten team in Big South Conference play with a record of 4-0. Marshall will be back in action on Monday against Sioux Falls Lincoln.

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