(MARQUETTE COMMUNICATIONS) – MILWAUKEE – Marquette University setter Yadhira Anchante became the fourth women’s volleyball player in program history to reach 3,000 career assists in Sunday’s 25-20, 25-21, 26-24 sweep of St. John’s at the Al McGuire Center.
“I thought we were really good offensively in the first two sets,” said MU head coach Ryan Theis. “We ended with one block when we blocked a lot of balls. They just had terrific coverage and recycling and swings on us. They do some things really well, so I was happy on offense to score enough points to win.”
Anchante guided the Golden Eagles (17-6, 11-1 BIG EAST) to a combined hitting percentage of .358 and MU was led by 14 kills from outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton, while Natalie Ring added 11 without a hitting error. Marquette hit .424 to open play in the first and .405 in the second. Anchante’s 3,00th assist came on her fourth of the third frame on a Carsen Murray kill.
“We knew Yadhi had abilities, we just didn’t know coming from junior college, how quickly that would translate. It translated fast and she’s a special setter,” Theis said.
Lucrezia Lodi posted a match-best 15 kills for St. John’s (16-10, 5-7 BIG EAST), which hit .207 on the afternoon. SJU kill leader Erin Jones notched 11 kills herself, but MU forced her into seven hitting errors and an attack mark of .095.
“(Jones) is really good with first-ball and if you can create some chaos and get in transition, it’s harder for a right-handed right side,” Theis said. “I thought we did a pretty good job of that getting them out of system. She’s trying to do a lot for them, so if you can stop that first ball that she does, you have a chance to play transition defense against her.”
NOTABLE:
- Anchante finished with 34 assists on Sunday to push her NCAA Division I career mark to 3,007 assists. She also added 12 digs for her team-best 17th double doubles this season. The native of Lima, Peru is averaging 10.19 assists per set and a career-best 3.31 digs in 23 matches this season.
- Marquette is 27-9 all-time against the Red Storm and all 36 meetings have come since MU joined the BIG EAST for the 2005 season. SJU won the first three meetings in the series, but MU has won 27 of the last 33 contests.
- Marquette won the first meeting this season, 3-1, at Carnesecca Arena on Friday, Oct. 11. The Red Storm had seven service aces in a 25-14 first set win before MU settled in to hit .520 in the second and .316 in the fourth. Hamilton led all players with 17 kills in the win.
- SJU libero Rashanny Solano Smith entered the week fourth in the BIG EAST with 3.80 digs per set and had just 10 on Sunday. MU libero Samantha Naber had five digs in each set for a match-high 15 on Sunday.
- St. John’s is the only other team outside of Marquette and Creighton to claim a BIG EAST title since the league reformed prior to the 2013 campaign. The Red Storm defeated both MU and CU on their way to a 2019 league tournament crown at the Al McGuire Center.
UP NEXT: MU hits the road for a midweek match at Butler on Wednesday, Nov. 6 before a big home contest against No. 6 Creighton at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10 at the Al.
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