Marshall Volleyball Recap
By Shane Darling, FM88 Sports
Nov. 9, 2025
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. (WMUL-FM) — After coming last in the Sun Belt Conference East Division last season and missing out on postseason play, Marshall Volleyball split with Appalachian State this weekend and punched its ticket to head back to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Thundering Herd head coach Heather Stout was trying to lead Marshall back to postseason play for the first time in two years in her first season at the helm.
The Thundering Herd was riding high coming into this weekend’s two-game home series against the visiting Mountaineers as the Herd had won five of its last six outings.
The paths to the conference tournament for each team were simple: Marshall needed to win just one of the two games to make it in, while App State needed a sweep.
Appalachian State came into the first game Thursday afternoon on a mission as it dominated the first set, 25-15. Marshall tried its best to hang with the Mountaineers, but App State cruised its way to a sweep after defeating the Herd 25-21 in the next two sets.
App State was led by the fantastic trio of Ali Morris, Maya Winterhoff and Bella Hutchens. Morris led all players with 14 kills, Winterhoff had 10 kills on an astounding .667 hitting percentage and Hutchens tacked on 10 kills of her own.
This set the stage for one of the greatest scenes in all of sports: one game, win-and-in for both teams.
It appeared as if the Mountaineers from Thursday were back and ready for postseason play as they pounced on the Herd once again in the first set, this time 25-14.
However, an energy shift came in the second set, and a 3-0 Herd scoring run saw Marshall hold a 20-16 lead. The team in Kelly Green earned its first set win of the weekend as a 25-20 victory knotted things up at a set apiece.
The Mountaineers came out on fire to start the third as they scored the first four points of the set. Marshall battled back, and after being even at 16, Marshall earned five straight points to take a 21-16 lead. The Herd would close things out at 25-19 and was just one set away from a trip to Foley, Ala. for the SBC Tournament.
App State kept its energy high, but Marshall was playing with some swagger as it was apparent that the players could taste the postseason. The Herd was up 14-9, but the Mountaineers were able to force a momentum shift late in the set and were just one point away from forcing a fifth, 24-22.
The game of runs proved to end in that same fashion as the Thundering Herd caught fire and scored four straight points to punch its ticket back to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
This victory was the definition of a team win for Marshall as Logan Henderson and Emma Barnett had 11 kills apiece. Beatrice Ciccarelli and Audrey Geer tagged along with seven kills, and Marae Reilly was right behind with six.
An x-factor in the matchup was Ciccarelli having a career-high six service aces on the night.
Arguably the most important facet of the night for the Herd, though, was its back row. Geer and Barnett let the squad as they both had 12 kills, and Morgan Caba and Maya Hunt gave Marshall four players in double-digits with 10 kills each.
A phenomenal series between two evenly matched teams, but the Thundering Herd gets the one win it needed to head to Foley, and unfortunately App State will not be making the trip.