(MARQUETTE COMMUNICATIONS) OMAHA, Nebraska – Aubrey Hamilton had 18 kills as the Marquette University women’s volleyball team swept Villanova, 26-24, 25-14, 25-16, in the semifinals of the 2024 BIG EAST Conference Women’s Volleyball Championship Presented by JEEP on Friday evening at D.J. Sokol Arena.
The Golden Eagles (23-7) advance to Saturday’s title match to face No. 5 Creighton at 5 p.m. Central time in a match broadcast live on FS2.
Hamilton had 12 kills in a first set win in extras as MU fought back from a 23-22 deficit. She landed her ninth and 10th kills to put MU at set point, 24-23, after head coach Ryan Theis called MU’s final timeout, and notched her final two of the frame after the Wildcats tied the stanza, 24-24.
The offensive production from Hamilton and middle blocker Morgan Daugherty in the opening set helped offset 11 points the Golden Eagles gave VU on hitting (seven) and service errors (four). Daugherty ended the night with a career-high nine kills, three digs and a block in her first career start.
Villanova (17-14) hit just .142 on the night and was led by nine kills from outside hitter Abby Harrell.
NOTABLE:
- The Golden Eagles hit .533 in the final frame and used a 7-1 run to pull ahead 13-6 and force VU to call its first timeout.
- MU scored 12 of the final 14 points in the second set and used an 8-0 run with Ella Foti serving to pull ahead 21-12.
- Marquette setter Yadhira Anchante had her team-leading 20th double double of the season with 44 assists and 11 digs alongside three kills and three blocks. Her assist total is the second-highest mark of her career in a sweep (her best (46) was recorded on Nov. 17 against Seton Hall).
- MU is now 14-15 all-time in the BIG EAST Championship.
- Marquette has now advanced to the title match on nine occasions. MU is 1-7 in its previous eight BIG EAST title game appearances and won the 2013 tournament title over Creighton in Omaha.
- Marquette holds a 27-4 edge in the all-time series against Villanova, which began when MU entered the BIG EAST for the 2005 campaign.
- MU has won each of the last 14 matches against the Wildcats since a five-set loss at VU on Oct. 14, 2017.
- The Golden Eagles held VU to just 44 points in the last meeting on Nov. 1 at the Al McGuire Center. MU was led by 11 kills from Natalie Ring and hit .367, while holding the Wildcats to a mark of .068.
- The tournament was last at D.J. Sokol Arena in 2022 when MU swept UConn in the semifinals and fell in five sets to then-No. 15 Creighton. MU won the fourth set against the Jays, 33-31, to even the title match before falling, 15-12, in the fifth. Hamilton and senior libero Carly Skrabak earned all-tournament recognition for their play.
- Last season, MU fell to St. John’s in five sets at the Al McGuire Center in the league semifinals.
UP NEXT: The Golden Eagles face No. 5 Creighton at 5 p.m. Central time on Saturday in the championship match at Sokol Arena on FS2. The Golden Eagles are in search of their second conference tournament title and first since 2013, when they defeated Creighton in Omaha.
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