Marquette University Athletics
Weekly Marquette Volleyball Release
10/11/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 11, 1999
Milwaukee - Golden Eagles To Play Two Home Matches, Face South Florida on the Road The Marquette volleyball team, 10-8 overall and 3-4 against Conference USA competition, wraps up its four-match homestand this week. The Golden Eagles will play the United States Professional Volleyball League team in an exhibition match on Wednesday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. Marquette then returns to Conference USA action against Houston on Friday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. Both matches will be played in the Marquette Gym, located at 1532 W. Clybourn St.
The Golden Eagles open a four-match road swing at South Florida on Sunday, Oct. 17. Action in Tampa gets underway at 1 p.m. CT.
Scouting Marquette The Golden Eagles have dropped their last four matches, all against Conference USA opponents. Last week Marquette lost to UNC Charlotte (3-2) and to Saint Louis (3-1).
On the season Marquette averages 14.58 kills, 1.88 aces, 15.27 digs and 2.22 total blocks and hits .190. In seven C-USA matches the Golden Eagles have averaged 14.30 kills, 2.15 aces, 14.93 digs and 2.20 blocks while hitting .170.
Vesna Grbavac tops the Golden Eagles with a 4.08 kills average and hits .232 and averages 2.72 digs. She also is the team leader with 22 service aces. In last weekend?s two matches Grbavac averaged 5.00 kills a game.
Chris Curtin hits .239 and averages 3.23 kills. She also has 13 block solos and 49 block assists, which lead the team. She is 18 kills shy of first place on Marquette?s career list.
Kelly Kaylor averages a team-high 3.27 digs to go with 2.86 kills and 0.43 aces a game. Her service aces average is tops among all Conference USA players.
Liz Egasti hands out 11.85 assists a game. She needs five assists to move into sole possession of first place on that Marquette career chart.
Head Coach Laura Farina Laura Farina is in her first campaign as a college coach and has a 10-8 record.
Farina was named the second coach in school history on Jan. 25. She spent the previous six seasons as an assistant at Michigan State. A 1992 graduate of Illinois, she was a Second-Team All-American. Farina also received a master?s degree from Michigan State in 1998.
Farina is assisted by Courtney DeBolt and Matt Darling.
Scouting United States Professional Volleyball League Wednesday?s match will be the 16th in a 20-match exhibition schedule for the United States Pro Volleyball League team. The all-star squad had won all 14 matches, and dropped only three games, entering Tuesday?s contest at UW-Milwaukee. The USPV is designed to be the premier women's professional volleyball league in the world. The inaugural season will run from December, 2000 through April, 2001.
The 19-player team is comprised of former college all-stars. Some of the key players include Addie Hauschild, who earned All-America honors twice while at Pacific, and Zhe Yang, who was the NAIA Player of the Year while at Columbia (Mo.) College.
Two players have ties to the Milwaukee area. Lindsay Anderson was a 1998 All-American at Penn State and is a Milwaukee native. Colleen Neels, who played collegiately at Wisconsin, is a Pewaukee native.
Last spring former U.S. Olympic coach Arie Selinger signed on as head coach for the newly-formed USPVL. He will direct the training program for the 20 athletes selected to represent the "USPV Dream Team" until August, 2000. Selinger, who guided the USA Women's Team to a silver medal during the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, is the only coach in the world to take both a men's and a women's volleyball team to gold medal rounds during the Olympics.
Scouting Houston The Cougars are 12-5 overall and a perfect 7-0 against Conference USA opponents. UH has won its last nine outings, including victories over UAB (3-0) and Memphis (3-0) last weekend.
Houston averages 15.68 kills, 1.56 aces, 15.88 digs and 2.82 total blocks a game and hits .207.
Jennifer Wittenburg averages a team-best 3.21 kills. Michelle Frazier hits a team-high .305 and also tops the team with a 1.61 blocks average. She also chips in 2.73 kills a game. Morgan Wallen leads Houston in assists (12.73 apg) and aces (20). Jillian King has the top digs average (2.64 dpg) and is tied with Wallen with an 0.30 aces average.
Head coach Bill Walton has a 290-159 record in 14 seasons at the helm of the Cougars. His 19-year career mark is 500-214.
Houston holds a 4-1 lead in the all-time series with the Golden Eagles. Marquette posted a 3-1 victory, its first in the series, on Oct. 16, 1998, in Houston.
Scouting South Florida The Bulls are 9-8 overall and 4-3 in Conference USA action. USF enters the week with a two-match winning streak, having posted wins over Memphis (3-0) and UAB (3-1) last weekend. The Bulls play at Loyola on Thursday, Oct. 14, and at DePaul on Friday, Oct. 15, before returning to Tampa for Sunday contest against Marquette.
South Florida has played its last 12 matches without Michelle Collier, the C-USA Preseason Player of the Year, who suffered a season-ending knee injury five contests into the 1999 campaign. Lori Gribben is the team leader in kills (3.64 kpg) and digs (3.66 dpg). Rachelle Paul hits a team-best .308 and also leads the team with a 0.91 blocks average. Maryann Mooney has served a squad-best 21 aces (0.33 sapg).
Nancy Mueller is in her first season at South Florida. She also is in her first campaign as a collegiate head coach.
The Bulls have a 5-0 advantage in the all-time series with the Golden Eagles. Last season USF recorded a 3-1 win on Oct. 18 in Tampa.
Last Week in Review The Golden Eagles posted an 0-2ecord in three contests last week. Here?s a closer look:
UNC Charlotte 3, MARQUETTE 2 - Marquette dropped its first match at home on Oct. 8, losing to UNC Charlotte 14-16, 15-8, 15-7, 15-11, 15-11. It snapped MU's eight-match home winning streak that dated back to the end of the 1998 season. The Golden Eagles hit just .157 over the final three games, compared to .323 by the visiting 49ers.
For the match, UNCC hit .206 (71-310194) and had 79 digs. Marquette hit .183 (72-35-202).
UNCC's Ozlem Ayture recorded her third straight triple-double with 12 kills, 47 assists and 10 digs. She also had four block assists. Emily Bowers had a team-high 17 kills, 19 digs and hit .359 (17-3-39).
Vesna Grbavac tied the season high by a Golden Eagle with 23 kills. She also served six aces, most by a Marquette player in 1999. Grbavac added a team-high 18 digs and hit .268. Katherine Lindros added 16 kills and 11 digs. Liz Egasti registered 48 assists and four block solos. Danielle Hagen had 11 kills and 16 digs for the Golden Eagles.
Saint Louis 3, MARQUETTE 1 - The Golden Eagles suffered their fourth straight defeat, and second consecutive at home, on Oct. 9. Saint Louis topped the Golden Eagles 14-16, 15-4, 15-12, 15-11.
The Billikens hit .239 to Marquette's .091 and recorded 18 total team blocks, compared to seven by the Golden Eagles.
SLU's Laura Risley had a team-high 20 kills to go with two block solos, eight block assists and nine digs. Colleen Hunter hit .370 and Jessica Moss had 17 kills. Marquette's Vesna Grbavac had a match-high 22 kills and a team-best 16 digs. Kelly Kaylor chipped in 15 kills.
Marquette Volleyball Team Earns District Ranking Marquette earned its highest-ever ranking in last week's District 6 poll. The Golden Eagles were ranked sixth and were one of four Conference USA teams.
Golden Eagles Face Tough Schedule Marquette has one match remaining against a nationally-ranked opponent. The Golden Eagles will face No. 4 Florida at the Florida Volleyball Conference Challenge on Nov. 27. Marquette dropped a 3-0 decision to then-#13 Wisconsin on Sept. 17.
In addition to those two teams, five other opponents - Houston, Louisville, Northern Illinois, South Florida, UW-Milwaukee - played in the 1998 NCAA Tournament. Florida advanced to the national semifinal match, losing to eventual champion Long Beach State.
Climbing the Career Charts Two Golden Eagles rank among Marquette?s all-time leaders in several statistical categories. Here?s the breakdown:
Kills
2. Chris Curtin - 1,122 (18 shy of first)
Attempts
6. Chris Curtin - 2,705 (157 shy of fifth)
Assists
2. Liz Egasti - 3,647 (4 shy of first)
Block Solos
6. Chris Curtin - 60 (2 shy of fifth)
Block Assists
2. Chris Curtin - 278 (86 shy of first)
Chris Curtin Joins Elite Group Senior Chris Curtin became the fourth player in school history to surpass the 1,000-kill mark in the Sept. 11 win over Mississippi State. Here?s a list of Marquette players who have 1,000 or more career kills:
Martha Meyer - 1,140 - 1994-97
CHRIS CURTIN - 1,122 - 1996-present
Kristin Patterson - 1,038 - 1983-85
Jeni Myers - 1,030 - 1995-98
Golden Eagles Among Conference USA Statistical Leaders In the Oct. 11 Conference USA Statistics, several Golden Eagles were among the league leaders. Here?s the breakdown:
Kills - Vesna Grbavac - 6th - 4.07
Hitting Percentage - Mehgan Devine - 9th - .245, Chris Curtin - 10th - .239
Assists - Liz Egasti 4th 11.85
Aces - Kelly Kaylor 1st 0.43
Digs - Kelly Kaylor 10th 3.20
Blocks - Mehgan Devine 3rd 1.33, Chris Curtin 8th 0.94
In the league?s team statistics, Marquette tops all C-USA squads with a 1.88 service aces average.
Levin Joins Lineup Freshman Amy Levin has moved into the starting lineup for the Golden Eagles. She has played all 13 games in the last four matches. Prior to that, she had appeared in two matches. In the last three outings she has 21 kills, three block solos and five block assists.
Season Superlatives
Team
Kills - 75 vs. Cincinnati - Oct. 3
Hitting Attempts - 227 vs. Cincinnati - Oct. 3
Hitting % - .385 (47-10-96) vs. Memphis - Sept. 24
Assists - 67 vs. Cincinnati - Oct. 3
Aces - 13 vs. UAB - Sept. 26
Digs - 100 vs. Providence - Sept. 10
Block Solos - 5 vs. Stephen F. Austin - Sept. 4
Block Assists - 28 vs. DePaul - Sept. 28
Individual
Kills - 23 - Vesna Grbavac vs. UNC Charlotte - Oct. 8, 23 - Chris Curtin vs. Northern Illinois - Sept. 7, 23 - Vesna Grbavac vs. Northern Illinois - Sept. 7
Hitting Attempts - 65 - Vesna Grbavac vs. Cincinnati - Oct. 3
Hitting % - .538 (14-0-26) - Chris Curtin vs. Memphis - Sept. 24, .538 (16-2-26) - Vesna Grbavac vs. Bowling Green - Sept. 11
Assists - 63 - Liz Egasti vs. Cincinnati - Oct. 3
Aces - 6 - Vesna Grbavac vs. UNC Charlotte - Oct. 8
Digs - 19 - Danielle Hagen vs. Cincinnati - Oct. 3, 19 - Liz Egasti vs. Providence - Sept. 10, 19 - Kelly Kaylor vs. Purdue - Sept. 4
Block Solos - 4 - Chris Curtin vs. UW-Milwaukee - Sept. 18
Block Assists - 8 - Mehgan Devine vs. DePaul - Sept. 28
1999 Honors
Chris Curtin - Mortar Board Purdue Premier All-Tournament Team (Sept. 3-4)
Mehgan Devine - Marquette Challenge All-Tournament Team (Sept. 10-11)
Vesna Grbavac - Marquette Challenge MVP (Sept. 10-11), Marquette Challenge All-Tournament Team (Sept. 10-11), Wisconsin Challenge All-Tournament Team (Sept. 17-18), Conference USA Player of the Week (Sept. 27)
