Marshall Volleyball Has Third Best RPI Turnaround In Country

1/29/2003

HUNTINGTON, W.Va.-The Marshall volleyball team improved 14 games from the 2001 season, and a whopping 108 spots in the volleyball RPI from a year ago, the third-best RPI turnaround in Division I volleyball. Manhattan and the University of California-Irvine finished one and two, respectively.

“It’s extremely exciting to see such an improvement with a nucleus that all came back from the previous year,” said head coach Mitch Jacobs. “It’s attributed to the hard work and dedication to learning new philosphies and new systems on the floor.

The Herd finished at 205 in the RPI rankings in 2001, while in 2002, MU came in at 97.

“It’s great to see this, but hopefully in the future we won’t have to report this because we won’t be down as far in the rankings.”

The Herd finished 20-11 this season, third in the MAC East Division. The 2001 team finished 6-21, 4-14 in league play.

“It’s a great testament to Coach Jacobs and the fine job that he has done this year,” said Marshall athletic director Bob Marcum. “Coach Jacobs and the volleyball team should be commended for their efforts and we look forward to building on this success.”

Next season, the Herd return nine of 11 letterwinners to the court, including all-Freshman team member Katie Stein and Verizon Academic All-American team member Isabell Anderer.