March 28, 2007

2007 Volleyball Schedule
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HUNTINGTON - Marshall head volleyball coach Mitch Jacobs announced the Herd's 2007 schedule on Wednesday, a slate that will culminate with the C-USA Championships in Huntington on November 15-18. It will be the first conference championship hosted by Marshall since the 2002 MAC Championship Football Game, a contest Marshall won, 49-45, over the Toledo Rockets, and the first volleyball championship since the Southern Conference Championship in 1993.

"We are very excited for what looks to be our most competitive schedule yet," said Jacobs. "Every preseason match is one we can win or lose and against teams that year in and year out compete at the top of their respected conferences."

Marshall will play ten regular season games at home in the friendly confines of the Henderson Center, where Jacobs has posted a record of 41-5 record in his four-year tenure with the Thundering Herd. The regular season home schedule is highlighted by a match with national power Pepperdine on September 15 in the Henderson Center. First serve with the Waves is set for an 11:30 a.m. start.

The Herd's only other home non-conference game is Xavier on September 4, a match that begins at 7 p.m.

"Xavier finished second in the A10 and will be a preseason favorite in that league this year," said Jacobs. "Last year they took it to us big time at their place, so we are hoping to be more prepared this year. As for Pepperdine, what can you say about one of the premier programs in the country? I can't thank Coach Mathies enough for bringing her team to Marshall. I hope that this will be the start of many top 25 programs to come play us here. I believe that this is a true testament to our arrival on the national scene that they would come here to play us."

Marshall will participate in four tournaments in 2007, beginning with a tournament at Virginia Tech to begin the season on August 24-25. Virginia Tech, VCU, and one yet-to-be-determined team will compete with the Thundering Herd on that weekend. Other tournaments for the Herd include a tournament at Western Kentucky on August 31-September 1, which features the host Hilltoppers, Gardner-Webb, and Tennessee State, a tournament at Valparaiso on September 6-7, which has Indiana and Western Michigan on the bill with the Crusaders, and another rendition of the Blue/Green Classic in Charleston, which will take place on September 14-15. Marshall will take on co-host West Virginia on September 14 at 7 p.m., and play former Mid-American Conference foe Akron on September 15 at 7 p.m. The match against Akron follows the Herd's showdown with Pepperdine in Huntington earlier in the day.

"We will once again be participating in the Blue/Green Classic hosted by Friends of Coal," said Jacobs. "This year, rather than the entire tournament taking place in Charleston, we will split the venues and compete against Pepperdine on the Marshall campus. Of course, the highlight of that tournament will come when we take on the Mountaineers, which is a very important match in our eyes every year."

Marshall's home Conference USA slate is a tough one that features four out of the top five seeds in last year's conference tournament (Marshall was #2 seed). Marshall will take on Tulsa on October 5 (7 p .m.), UTEP on October 7 (1 p.m.), defending league champion UAB on October 12 (7 p.m.), Memphis on October 14 (1 p.m.), East Carolina on October 19 (7 p.m.), Southern Miss on November 2 (7 p.m.), and UCF on November 4 (1 p.m.).

"This might be our toughest home schedule we've had since we joined the league," said Jacobs.

The season culminates for the Thundering Herd and the rest of the league in the Conference USA championships in Huntington on November 15-18. All 12 teams make the tournament, with the top four seeds receiving byes into the quarterfinals. There will be four first-round matches on Thursday, November 15, four quarterfinal matches on Friday, November 16, two semifinal contests on Saturday, November 17, and the final on Sunday, November 18. CSTV will televise the tournament finale at a yet-to-be-determined time.

"I believe our fans are in for an incredibly entertaining home schedule, especially with the Conference USA Championships in the Henderson Center," said Jacobs. "The only thing I regret is that we don't have more home matches. We have built our reputation as a program that will go anywhere to play the best competition, and now with Pepperdine coming to Huntington, some of those people are starting to come to play us here."

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