Richardson Hammers 12 Kills as Marshall Sweeps Cumberland in Two

TOLEDO, Ill. — Harper Richardson put down 12 kills on 20 swings without being slowed by a single stretch of trouble, and Marshall’s varsity volleyball team handled Cumberland 2-0 in a non-conference road match Sept. 8.

The senior hitter was the match in miniature for the Lions, who moved to 18-8 on the season. Richardson converted 60 percent of her attacks into kills, committed just one hitting error and finished at .550 — a line that gave Marshall a reliable answer every time the Pirates threatened to string points together. She also led the Lions in serving volume, going to the line 14 times for an ace and a team-high nine service points.

Marshall’s offense ran through a two-setter look, with Richardson and sophomore Lillian Ross each distributing eight assists. Ross doubled as a front-row threat, adding six kills on 14 swings while hitting .286. As a team, the Lions put away 21 kills on 56 attempts with eight errors, hitting .232 — more than double Cumberland’s .103 clip.

Senior Lauren English chipped in two kills and shared the Lions’ only block of the night, while senior Mckenzie Davis was Marshall’s sharpest server, landing two aces on nine attempts at a 22.2 percent ace rate. Junior Ali Sheets anchored the back row with nine digs and a team-high 10 serve receptions against only one error, keeping Cumberland’s servers from turning pressure into runs. Marshall finished with five aces.

Cumberland did not go quietly. Senior Mackenzie Claybaugh took on the heaviest workload on the Pirates’ side with 18 swings, converting six kills while adding eight digs and a match-high 12 receptions. Senior Madelyn Mcelravy was Cumberland’s most productive all-around player, posting three kills, six assists, four digs and a match-best three aces among her seven service points.

Senior Mia Holsapple was the Pirates’ most efficient attacker, hitting .429 with three kills on seven attempts, and she recorded Cumberland’s lone solo block. Senior Alysa Dittamore ran the offense in her single set of work, dishing six assists with no ball-handling errors and picking up five digs. Junior Caroline Fritts was perfect on eight serves with an ace, and freshman Katie Mcelravy added five digs and went 6-for-6 at the service line.

The difference came down to the attack. Cumberland generated 18 kills but gave back 12 hitting errors across 58 attempts, and the Pirates’ 6-for-58 net production couldn’t match a Marshall front line that kept its errors to single digits in both sets.

Game Summary

Score by Sets

Marshall Lions (away) — 2

Cumberland Pirates (home) — 0

Final: Marshall 2, Cumberland 0 (individual set scores not reported in the available data)

Individual Statistics

MARSHALL (18-8)

KILLS: Harper Richardson (Sr) 12 (20 att, 1 E, .550); Lillian Ross (So) 6 (14 att, 2 E, .286); Lauren English (Sr) 2 (8 att, 2 E, .000); Mckenzie Davis (Sr) 1 (10 att, 3 E, -.200). Team: 21 kills, 56 att, 8 E, .232

ASSISTS: Harper Richardson 8 (4.0/set); Lillian Ross 8 (4.0/set). Team: 16

ACES: Mckenzie Davis 2 (9 SA); Ali Sheets (Jr) 1 (9 SA); Harper Richardson 1 (14 SA); Lillian Ross 1 (8 SA). Team: 5

DIGS: Ali Sheets 9 (4.5/set); Lauren English 5; Lillian Ross 5; Harper Richardson 4; Mckenzie Davis 4; Libby Huisinga (Fr) 1. Team: 28

BLOCKS: Lauren English 1 (block assist)

SERVE RECEIVE: Ali Sheets 10 (1 E); Lauren English 7 (2 E); Harper Richardson 4; Lillian Ross 3; Mckenzie Davis 3

CUMBERLAND

KILLS: Mackenzie Claybaugh (Sr) 6 (18 att, 3 E, .167); Mia Holsapple (Sr) 3 (7 att, 0 E, .429); Madelyn Mcelravy (Sr) 3 (10 att, 2 E, .100); Kyndal Duvall (So) 2 (5 att, 2 E, .000); Sadie Colnar (Sr) 2 (5 att, 2 E, .000); Ava Long (Jr) 1 (2 att, 1 E, .000); Alysa Dittamore (Sr) 1 (3 att, 0 E, .333). Team: 18 kills, 58 att, 12 E, .103

ASSISTS: Alysa Dittamore 6 (6.0/set); Madelyn Mcelravy 6 (3.0/set); Mia Holsapple 2; Caroline Fritts (Jr) 2; Kyndal Duvall 1; Mackenzie Claybaugh 1. Team: 18

ACES: Madelyn Mcelravy 3 (12 SA); Mia Holsapple 1 (6 SA); Alysa Dittamore 1 (3 SA); Caroline Fritts 1 (8 SA). Team: 6

DIGS: Mackenzie Claybaugh 8 (4.0/set); Alysa Dittamore 5 (5.0/set); Katie Mcelravy (Fr) 5; Madelyn Mcelravy 4; Emersen Brading (So) 2; Kyndal Duvall 2; Sadie Colnar 2; Lauren Schnepper (Jr) 1; Caroline Fritts 1. Team: 30

BLOCKS: Mia Holsapple 1 (solo)

SERVE RECEIVE: Mackenzie Claybaugh 12 (1 E); Emersen Brading 7; Madelyn Mcelravy 6; Caroline Fritts 6 (1 E); Lauren Schnepper 4 (1 E); Katie Mcelravy 3