This weekend, Marshall Volleyball made its Sun Belt debut in a doubleheader at Old Dominion. The results were not what the Herd needed, losing both to the Monarchs—winning only one of seven total sets over two games.  

The struggles started early for Marshall, with their worst set of the Friday woes being the first. Old Dominion outscored Marshall 25-13 in the first set with hardly any restraint shown from the green and white.

Marshall took care of business in set two, taking a tight one by a tally of 27-25. The following two sets sealed the fate for the Herd on day 1 of the doubleheader, losing 25-20 and 25-23, respectively. 

In what seems to be the Achilles’ heel of this 2022 squad for Marshall, keeping it close doesn’t win games. Keeping it close in the last two matches doesn’t matter when the job isn’t finished. On a brighter note, grad student Macy McElhaney recorded her 500th career kill in a double-double outing.

She wasn’t the only one racking up double digits in kills and assists, with sophomore star Brynn Brown claiming her seventh game with those numbers on the season. 

Saturday didn’t get better for Marshall. It took a turn for the worst, getting swept in three sets by the hosting Monarchs. Despite the lackluster scores for Saturday’s sets, it was a much better effort. Most of the errors were reduced significantly, but it was still not enough for Marshall to bring home a win.

Standouts for Marshall on Saturday included the reliable McElhaney and a solid outing from Regan Tinkle. Nevertheless, the Herd dropped under.500, toting a losing record after its first weekend in the Sun Belt. 

A quick turnaround awaits, with Marshall returning home to the Cam Henderson Center to host Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday evening. The action is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.