Huntington, WV - Freshman outside hitter Shelby Young reached double figures in kills for the first time in her career with 13, and redshirt freshman outside hitter Nikki Kinnier added 12 kills, but it was not enough as the Hofstra Volleyball team dropped a narrow five set match to Marshall on Friday evening in the Thunder Invitational Tourney.

Set scores were 25-11, 22-25, 25-19, 23-25 and 15-8 in favor of Marshall, which improved to 1-3 with the win.  Hofstra slips to 1-4 with the defeat in its first road match of the 2010 campaign.

The first set was all Marshall as the Thundering Herd turned a narrow 7-6 advantage into a 14-7 lead with a 7-1 scoring run.  A kill from Young, followed by a block from sophomore middle blocker Carolyn Jenkins and Kinnier closed the gap to 14-9 but Marshall answered with eight straight points to end any hopes of a Hofstra comeback. 

Led by six kills from Kinnier and nine assists from senior setter Rachel August, Hofstra battled back in the second stanza to notch the match at one set apiece courtesy of a 25-22 victory.  Marshall led early in the set, 7-3, before the Pride fought back with an 8-2 run and led 11-9 following back-to-back attack errors from the Thundering Herd.  Marshall would rally to take a 20-16 lead later in the set, but kills from Young and August kick-started a set-ending 9-2 that allowed the Pride to tie the match.  Kinnier was strong down the stretch and she tallied kills on the final two points of the stanza.

In the third set, Marshall came out of the gates quickly and opened up an early 7-1 lead, forcing Hofstra to call its first time out of the stanza.  The Thundering Herd would push their early lead to 9-1 before a kill from Kinnier and a bad set from Marshall brought the score to 9-3 in favor of the hosts.  The early deficit would prove too much to overcome for Hofstra as the Pride was only able to get as close as five on a pair of occasions later in the set before falling 25-19. 

In the fourth set neither squad could take control and the stanza would be tight throughout.  Down two late, 21-19, a block from Jenkins and Kinnier followed by an attack error from Marshall would knot the score at 21.  The set would once again be tied at 23 before another attack error by the Thundering Herd gave Hofstra a set point and a chance to even the match at two sets apiece.  Young would provide the final point of the set for the Pride as she slammed down a kill to send the match to a fifth and final set after a 25-23 win in the fourth stanza.

After an early two-two tie in the fifth stanza, Marshall tallied five of the next seven points to lead 7-4 midway through the set and force the Pride into a time out.  A service error by Marshall later in the set brought Hofstra to within 8-5 but back-to-back points from the Thundering Herd allowed the hosts to take a commanding 10-5 lead in the decisive set.  Marshall would end up winning by the score of 15-8 as the Thundering Herd scored five of the final seven points in the set to take the match, three sets to two. 

August finished with 30 assists for the Pride, while sophomore libero Kylee Maneja and senior defensive specialist Jenna Connell contributed 15 and 14 digs, respectively.  Kinnier and Jenkins each had five blocks to lead Hofstra.

Elizabeth Herman had a match-high 21 kills for Marshall, while Elizabeth Fleming dished out 40 assists and added 13 digs.
Hofstra returns to action at the Thunder Invitational Tourney on Saturday when they take on Cleveland State at 10:30 a.m. and High Point at 5 p.m.