(MARQUETTE ATHLETICS) MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University women’s volleyball team opened its 20th season of BIG EAST Conference play with a 25-19, 25-10, 27-25 sweep of previously undefeated UConn on Friday evening at the Al McGuire Center.
Outside hitters Jenna Reitsma and Aubrey Hamilton each led the Golden Eagles (5-5) with 11 kills apiece and MU hit a combined .305 (47-11-118), including a match-high .536 in the second frame.
UConn (12-1) was led by outside hitter Emma Werkmeister’s 13 digs and the Huskies hit .115 in the loss.
Hamilton posted three consecutive kills midway through the first set before a service ace from Reitsma capped a five-point run to give MU a 19-13 advantage. Hamilton led the way for the Golden Eagles in the frame with seven kills and Reitsma added six in the second to put MU up at the break after a 15-point win.
The Golden Eagles broke free from a tight third set to take a 20-12 lead and force a UConn timeout. The Huskies later clawed back to pull within one, 22-21, before Reitsma’s final kill gave MU match point, 24-21. UConn then fought off three match points before taking a 25-24 set advantage on Werkmeister’s final kill.
Yadhira Anchante and Hattie Bray responded with a big block off a Werkmeister attack on the ensuing point, before a kill from Hamilton and another Werkmeister attack error gave MU its first home victory of the season.
NOTABLE
- The 2024 campaign is MU’s 20th in the BIG EAST Conference and 50th overall. The Golden Eagles are 15-5 all-time in BIG EAST lid-lifters since their inaugural league season in 2005 and are 9-1 when those matches are played at the Al McGuire Center.
- Senior Samantha Naber served as MU’s top libero on Friday and recorded a match-best 15 digs.
- MU middle blockers Carsen Murray (6-0-13) and Bray (7-1-13) each hit an identical .462.
- Anchante recorded her team-best seventh double double of the season with 30 assists and 10 digs.
- MU was 8-of-10 in sideout situations in the second set and did not have a hitting error (15-0-28) in the stanza.
- The Huskies entered conference play as just one of six undefeated teams in NCAA Division I.
- UConn entered the week holding opponents to a hitting mark of just .149, the lowest in the conference. MU hit .305 on Friday evening.
- The Golden Eagles began conference play with the seventh-toughest strength of schedule in the country according to the NCAA Division I Massey Ratings.
- MU setter Yadhira Anchante was honored prior to the match for posting her 2,500th NCAA Division I career assist on Sunday at No. 1 Pitt.
- Marquette is 15-3 all-time against UConn and the Golden Eagles have won the last 12 matches in the series, including a sweep of the Huskies in last season’s meeting in Milwaukee on Oct. 28. 2023.
- MU has beaten UConn nine times since the Huskies rejoined the BIG EAST for the 2021 campaign. Two of those meetings have come in the BIG EAST tournament semifinals.
- Marquette has won at a 75.4 percent clip (224-73) since joining the league and is 139-29 (.827) in BIG EAST matches under head coach Ryan Theis.
- MU is 100-14 (.877) in BIG EAST play over the last seven seasons (2017-23) under Theis, including consecutive regular season league titles in 2021 (16-2), 2022 (17-1) and 2023 (16-2).
- UConn is led by sixth-year head coach Ellen Herman-Kimball, who played under MU head coach Ryan Theis at Ohio.
UP NEXT: The Golden Eagles welcome Providence to the Al McGuire Center at 1 p.m. on Sunday before traveling to No. 6 Creighton for a Tuesday, Oct. 1 match on FS1.
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