Marshall Volleyball Recap
By Shane Darling, FM88 Sports
Oct.18, 2025
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. (WMUL-FM) — The Marshall Volleyball Team (9-10) got off to an unfortunate 1-5 start to Sun Belt Conference action. However, the Thundering Herd had a favorable matchup coming into the weekend as it hosted the University of Louisiana-Monroe (9-11), who had yet to win a SBC contest in six games.
In a hushing scene during warmups of the first game on Thursday, ULM’s star outside hitter that led the Warhawks in kills, Aniya Hall, went down with a lower-leg injury.
Without Hall, ULM was slow to start, and the Thundering Herd pounced on the Warhawks 25-15 in the first set. Marshall did not waiver in its momentum during the second set, though, as the Herd defeated ULM handily once again, 25-11. The Warhawks seemed to have found its footing in the third, jumping out to an 11-7 lead. Unfortunately for ULM, the lead would not hold, and Marshall would rally to complete the sweep, 25-20.
The Thundering Herd dominated the net in the first matchup, leading the Warhawks 40-24 in kills and out-blocking ULM 10-5. It was a great team win, as four players on the Herd side had seven kills or more. Logan Henderson was the leader in kills with nine, while Beatrice Ciccarelli led in blocks with five.
The Warhawks seemed to have gotten some of their swagger back at the start of the second game of the series on Friday as the Herd held a narrow 18-17 lead nearing the end of the first set. Both teams seemed to trade punches in the final handful of points, and Marshall took the first narrowly, 25-23.
The Thundering Herd from Thursday seemed to be back as Marshall came out on fire in the second, stampeding its way to a 9-1 lead. ULM could not find a way to turn things around, and the Herd picked up a decisive set victory, 25-13. Marshall did not play around in the third, picking up its sixth set victory in a row, 25-17.
ULM hung closer with Marshall up front in the second matchup, but was still defeated in kills by the Herd 47-36.
The Thundering Herd had four players with eight or more kills in the second game, as Logan Henderson shined again with 14 kills on a .640 hitting percentage. In fact, a large reason as to why the Herd handled the Warhawks so handily in the series was due to Marshall having hitting percentages of .322 and .398, while ULM swung at a mere -.011 and .206.
The Warhawks did have bright spots in the lineup this weekend as Kennedy Plummer leaves Huntington with 19 kills on the weekend, and Morgan Howard with 46 assists.
Other notable players for the Herd on the series were Emma Barnett with 21 kills, Morgan Caba leading both teams with 33 digs, and Bella Thompson topping both squads with 59 assists.
The Thundering Herd has six days to prepare for arguably its most important series of the season, as it heads south to take on the Georgia State Panthers (11-8, 2-6 SBC). Marshall is currently fifth in the SBC East division with a divisional record of 1-5, while Georgia State is sixth with a divisional record of 0-4. The top five teams in each division by divisional record advance to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. So, to say this matchup in Atlanta is a big one is a huge understatement.