(MARQUETTE COMMUNICATIONS) CHICAGO – The Marquette University women’s volleyball team rallied from an opening set loss for a 17-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-22 win over DePaul on Sunday afternoon at McGrath-Phillips Arena to conclude regular season action
The Golden Eagles (22-7, 16-2 BIG EAST) had four players reach double-digit kills, led by 21 from outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton, who took 56 swings and compiled 11 digs and a pair of blocks. Ella Foti (12 kills), Carsen Murray (11) and Natalie Ring (10) each hit over .300 in MU’s 16th win in league play, a mark it has reached in each of the last five full seasons.
Marquette is officially the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST Championship Presented by JEEP, which begins on Wednesday afternoon at D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha, Nebraska. MU will face the winner of the first round matchup between third-seeded UConn and sixth-seeded Villanova on Friday, Nov. 29 at 5 p.m. Central time.
MU fell behind the Blue Demons (18-12, 10-8 BIG EAST), 9-5, in the second set but rallied to pull ahead for good on a Hamilton kill that put MU up 18-17. DePaul fought off three set points in the second, including consecutive kills from Jill Pressly to pull DPU within one, 24-23. Foti then responded to close the frame and even the match at the break.
The Golden Eagles hit .371 in the third and .442 in the fourth on their way to their 28th-straight win over DePaul.
Pressly led the Blue Demons with 18 kills, while libero Rachel Krasowski had a match-best 18 digs.
NOTABLE:
- Murray, who hit .474 in the win, became just the fifth player in MU history to reach 400 career blocks on Sunday afternoon.
- Marquette holds a 45-29 record in a series that began in 1982 against the Blue Demons and has won the last 28 matches dating back to the 2009 campaign.
- Since both teams joined the BIG EAST Conference for the 2005 campaign, MU has won 31 of 32 matches.
- In the match on Oct. 18 in Milwaukee, MU rallied for a 3-2 win in a reverse sweep. MU dropped the first two sets, 25-20, before rallying to win 25-16, 25-23, 16-14. Hamilton led all players with 28 kills, while Yadhira Anchante had 53 assists and MU hit .228 to DePaul’s .192. Hamiton’s kill total pushed her over 1,000 in her MU career.
- MU middle blocker Morgan Daugherty notched a career-best five kills and hit .625 (5-0-8) with two digs and a block.
UP NEXT: The Golden Eagles head to Omaha, Nebraska over Thanksgiving week for the BIG EAST Championship Presented by JEEP at D.J. Sokol Arena. MU has received a bye into the semifinals and will play either UConn or Villanova at 5 p.m. CT on Friday, Nov. 29 in the match opposite tournament-host Creighton.
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