Marquette University Athletics
Marquette Volleyball Weekly Release
10/19/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 19, 1999
MILWAUKEE -
Golden Eagles Travel To Chicago To Face DePaul The Marquette volleyball team, 11-9 overall and 4-5 against Conference USA competition, has one match on its schedule this week. The Golden Eagles head to DePaul to face the Blue Demons on Friday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. It is the second of four straight road matches for the Golden Eagles.
Scouting Marquette The Golden Eagles were 1-1 in two Conference USA matches last week. Marquette fell 3-0 to Houston on Oct. 15 in Milwaukee and then snapped a five-match losing streak with a 3-1 win at South Florida on Oct. 17. The Golden Eagles also dropped a 3-0 decision to the United States Professional Volleyball League in an exhibition match on Oct. 13.
Marquette is averaging 14.70 kills, 1.81 aces, 15.57 digs and 2.28 blocks. The Golden Eagles hit .184. In nine Conference USA matches Marquette has averaged 14.62 kills, 1.94 aces, 15.65 digs and 2.34 blocks, while hitting .162.
Individually, Vesna Grbavac is the team leader with 308 kills (4.16 kpg), 24 aces (0.32 apg) and 207 digs (2.80 dpg). She also hits .222 and has reached the 20-kill plateau in four of the last five matches.
Liz Egasti, who set the Marquette career assist record in Friday?s match against Houston, averages 12.07 assists and 0.30 aces a game. Mehgan Devine hits a team-leading .245 and tops the squad with a 1.34 blocks average. Kelly Kaylor leads the team with a 3.25 digs average and has served 21 aces (0.40 sapg).
Chris Curtin, who missed the Oct. 17 match at South Florida due to illness, hits .241 and averages 3.20 kills and 0.94 blocks. Amy Levin, who has played in the last five matches, hits .236 and averages 0.86 blocks and 1.86 kills.
Head Coach Laura Farina Laura Farina is in her first campaign as a college coach and has a 11-9 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 DePaul The Blue Demons are arguably the hottest team in Conference USA with a five-match winning streak entering the week. DePaul handed Houston its first league loss of the season last weekend, posting a 3-2 win. On the season DePaul is 13-9 overall and 6-3 in C-USA matches.
Stephanie Bishop, this week?s C-USA Player of the Week, leads DePaul with a 4.27 kills average and a 4.29 digs average. She is tied for the team lead with 14 aces. Christa Dirr hits .231 ad averages a team-high 1.07 blocks. Kara Jakusz averages 12.21 assists and hits .286.
Head coach Dawn Dockstader is in her third season at the helm of the Blue Demons and has a 32-53 record. Her career mark is the same.
DePaul leads the all-time series with Marquette 23-10. Earlier this season (Sept. 28), Marquette came back from a 2-0 deficit to post a 9-15, 9-15, 15-8, 15-10, 15-6 victory in Milwaukee. Chris Curtin had 16 kills to go with one block solo and six block assists. Kelly Kaylor chipped in 12 kills and a match-high 18 digs. Stephanie Bishop led DePaul with 16 kills.
Last Week in Review The Golden Eagles posted a 1-1 record and also played an exhibition match last week. Here?s a closer look at the results:
US Professional Volleyball League 3, MARQUETTE 0 - The Golden Eagles dropped a 15-5, 15-5, 15-10 exhibition match to the United States Professional Volleyball League team Wednesday night in Milwaukee. It was the 16th straight win against a college team by the professional squad.
USPV hit .409 (51-13-93) and limited Marquette to .075 (28-20-107).
Sarah Silvernail led the professional team with 13 kills and tied for the team lead with nine digs. Anne Eastman hit a match-best .750 (10-1-12) and had two block solos.
Vesna Grbavac paced Marquette with 10 kills and hit .304 (10-3-23). Kelly Kaylor chipped in five kills and five digs.
Houston 3, MARQUETTE 0 - The Golden Eagles fell to league-leading Houston 15-5, 15-10, 15-9 on Oct. 15 in the Marquette Gym.
Houston hit .258 (41-16-97) and had 12 total team blocks. Marquette hit just .096 (41-30-115) and committed 12 service errors.
Michelle Frazier led Houston with 12 kills, while Bobbi Stewart had 10 kills and 12 digs. Jillian King had one block solo and seven block assists.
Marquette was led by Vesna Grbavac's match-high 13 kills. Amy Levin chipped in eight kills and five block assists. Liz Egasti became Marquette's career leader in assists in the first game. She surpassed Jennifer Martin, who set the previous record of 3,651 from 1988-91.
MARQUETTE 3, South Florida 1 - Marquette posted a 10-15, 15-8, 15-8, 15-8 win over South Florida in Tampa on Oct. 17. The victory snapped a five-match losing streak for the Golden Eagles and was Marquette?s first-ever win in six contests against the Bulls.
Vesna Grbavac paced Marquette with 22 kills and 22 digs. It was the fourth time in the last five matches that she surpassed the 20-kill plateau. Amy Levin hit .400 (12-2-25) and Katherine Lindros added 13 kills. Mehgan Devine chipped in 11 kills and six block assists. Liz Egasti recorded a season-high 65 assists to go with 15 digs.
Marquette was without the services of senior Chris Curtin, who missed the match due to illness
South Florida was led by Maryann Mooney's 17 kills and 16 digs.
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.
Liz Egasti Sets Marquette Career Assist Record Junior Liz Egasti broke the Marquette career record in assists on Oct. 15 against Houston. The St. Charles, Ill., native set the record in the first game when Chris Curtin pounded a kill.
Egasti surpassed Jennifer Martin, who set the previous record of 3,651 assists from 1988-91. Through 20 matches she has 3,746 career assists.
Egasti holds the top two single-season assist records and is one of three players to surpass the 1,000-assist mark in one season. Her 893 assists this season are the eighth most in one Marquette campaign. She is on pace to become the only player in school history to hold the top three single-season marks in one statistical category.
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 - 1,130 (10 shy of first)
Attempts
6 Chris Curtin - 2,705 (157 shy of fifth)
Assists
1. Liz Egasti - 3,746
Service Aces
10. Liz Egasti - 89 (1 shy of ninth)
Block Solos
6. Chris Curtin - 60 (2 shy of fifth)
Block Assists
2. Chris Curtin - 281 (83 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 - 1,130 (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.
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 - 65 - Liz Egasti vs. South Florida - Oct. 17
Aces - 6 - Vesna Grbavac vs. UNC Charlotte - Oct. 8
Digs - 22 - Vesna Grbavac vs. South Florida - Oct. 17
Block Solos - 4 - Chris Curtin vs. UW-Milwaukee - Sept. 18 Block Assists - 8 - Mehgan Devine vs. DePaul - Sept. 28
Double-Figure Kill Matches Vesna Grbavac - 16, Chris Curtin - 12, Kelly Kaylor - 8, Katherine Lindros - 5, Danielle Hagen - 3, Mehgan Devine - 2, Amy Levin - 1.
Twenty-Kill Matches Vesna Grbavac - 7, Chris Curtin - 1.
Double-Figure Dig Matches Vesna Grbavac - 12, Kelly Kaylor - 8, Chris Curtin, Liz Egasti, Danielle Hagen - 6, Katherine Lindros - 4, Annie Richey, Katie Watters - 2, Maura Donnellan - 1.
Twenty-Dig Matches Vesna Grbavac - 1.
Double-Double Matches (Kills-Digs) Vesna Grbavac - 11, Chris Curtin, Kelly Kaylor, Katherine Lindros - 5, Danielle Hagen - 3.
Twenty-Twenty Matches (Kills-Digs) Vesna Grbavac - 1.
Double-Double Matches (Assists-Digs) Liz Egasti - 6.
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)
