Marquette University Athletics
Weekly Marquette Volleyball Release
10/25/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 25, 1999
MILWAUKEE -
Golden Eagles Conclude Road Swing with Matches at Southern Miss (Oct. 29) and Tulane (Oct. 31) The Marquette volleyball team, 11-10 overall and 4-6 against Conference USA competition, wraps up a four-match road series this weekend. The Golden Eagles face Southern Miss on Friday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. Marquette then takes on Tulane on Sunday, Oct. 31, at 2 p.m.
Scouting Marquette The Golden Eagles dropped a 3-0 decision at DePaul on Oct. 22, their only action last weekend.
Marquette averages 14.52 kills, 1.77 aces, 15.39 digs and 2.22 total blocks and hits .182. The service aces average is best among Conference USA schools. In 10 C-USA matches, the Golden Eagles are averaging 14.24 kills, 1.84 aces, 15.27 digs and 2.20 total blocks and hit .158.
Vesna Grbavac tops the squad with a 4.12 kills averages. She hits .218 and averages 0.31 aces and 2.75 digs. Mehgan Devine is the team leader in hitting percentage (.240) and blocks (1.29 bpg). She also averages 2.10 kills.
Kelly Kaylor paces the team in aces average (0.38 sapg) and digs average (3.16 dpg). Liz Egasti, Marquette?s career assist leader, averages 11.96 assists. She is tied for the team lead with 24 service aces (0.31 sapg).
Chris Curtin chips in 3.15 kills and 0.93 blocks while hitting .239.
Head Coach Laura Farina Laura Farina is in her first campaign as a college coach and has a 11-10 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 Southern Miss The Golden Eagles are 12-12 overall and 3-7 in Conference USA action. Southern Miss has dropped four of its last five outings. The Golden Eagles fell 3-0 at Tulane in its only match last Friday.
USM averages 12.63 kills, 1.66 aces, 14.30 digs and 2.13 total blocks and hits .157.
Lindsay Westendorf tops the team with a 3.24 kills average. She hits .209 and averages 2.12 digs. Crystal Zane paces the club in assists (10.19 apg) and digs (2.40 dpg).
Kelly Tribble has served a team-high 31 aces and averages 2.42 kills. Carla Bulla averages a team-leading 0.98 blocks a game.
Head coach Steve Sykes is in his third season at the helm of the Golden Eagles and has a 52-38 record. His career record is the same.
Southern Miss holds a 4-1 advantage in the series with Marquette. Last season, USM posted a 15-6, 15-13, 8-15, 15-9 victory on Oct. 9 in Milwaukee.
Scouting Tulane The Green Wave is 10-11 overall and 3-7 in Conference USA matches. Tulane broke a three-match losing skid with a 3-0 victory over Southern Miss on Oct. 22, its only match last weekend.
Tulane averages 14.65 kills, 1.43 aces, 16.14 digs and 2.35 blocks and hits .180.
Kim Sentmore averages 5.03 kills, which leads all C-USA players, and also is the team leader with a 3.37 digs average. Erin Dobyanski has the highest hitting percentage (.216) on the team.
Lindsey Bennett has an 0.27 aces average, while Lacey Vicknair averages a team-best 1.12 blocks a game.
Betsy Ferrer is in her first year at Tulane and has a 10-11 mark. She also is in her first season as a collegiate head coach.
Tulane holds a slim 3-2 lead in the series with the Golden Eagles. The Green Wave registered a 15-13, 15-8, 14-16, 15-9 win on Oct. 11, 1998, in New Orleans, the most-recent meeting in the series.
Last Week in Review The Golden Eagles played just one match last week. Below is a recap of that contest:
DePaul 3, MARQUETTE 0 - The Golden Eagles dropped a 15-3, 15-7, 15-3 decision to DePaul in Chicago on Oct. 22.
The Blue Demons hit .389, compared to .102 by Marquette. DePaul also served five aces and had six total team blocks.
Stephanie Bishop, the reigning Conference USA Player of the Week, had a match-high 15 kills and hit .517 for the Blue Demons. Christa Dirr chipped in nine kills, one block solo and three block assists and hit .692 (9-0-13).
Marquette was led by Vesna Grbavac's nine kills. Liz Egasti added 28 assists, seven digs and two service aces. Chris Curtin added six kills and two block assists.
Marquette Volleyball Team Earns District Ranking Marquette earned its highest-ever ranking in the Oct. 4 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 21 matches this season, she has 3,774 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 921 assists this season are the seventh 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 1,136 (4 shy of first)
Attempts
6. Chris Curtin 2,723 (139 shy of fifth)
Assists
1. Liz Egasti 3,774
Service Aces
8. (tie) Liz Egasti 91 (16 shy of seventh)
Block Solos
6. Chris Curtin 60 (2 shy of fifth)
Block Assists
2. Chris Curtin 283 (81 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 - 1,136 - 1996-present
Kristin Patterson - 1,038 - 1983-85
Jeni Myers - 1,030 - 1995-98
Golden Eagles Among Conference USA Statistical Leaders In this week?s Conference USA Statistics, several Golden Eagles were among the league leaders. Here?s the breakdown:
Kills - Vesna Grbavac 6th 4.12
Hitting Percentage - Mehgan Devine 9th .241
Assists - Liz Egasti 5th 11.96
Aces - Kelly Kaylor 3rd 0.38
Digs - Kelly Kaylor 10th 3.20
Blocks - Mehgan Devine 4th 1.29
In the league?s team statistics, Marquette tops all C-USA squads with a 1.77 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 Marquette - 47 (Vesna Grbavac - 16, Chris Curtin - 12, Kelly Kaylor - 8, Katherine Lindros - 5, Danielle Hagen - 3, Mehgan Devine - 2, Amy Levin - 1). Opponents - 45.
Twenty-Kill Matches Marquette - 8 (Vesna Grbavac - 7, Chris Curtin - 1). Opponents - 6.
Double-Figure Dig Matches Marquette - 47 (Vesna Grbavac - 12, Kelly Kaylor - 8, Chris Curtin, Liz Egasti, Danielle Hagen - 6, Katherine Lindros - 4, Annie Richey, Katie Watters - 2, Maura Donnellan - 1). Opponents - 50.
Twenty-Dig Matches Marquette - 1 (Vesna Grbavac - 1). Opponents - 3.
Thirty-Dig Matches Marquette - 0. Opponents - 1.
Double-Double Matches (Kills-Digs) Marquette - 29 (Vesna Grbavac - 11, Chris Curtin, Kelly Kaylor, Katherine Lindros - 5, Danielle Hagen - 3). Opponents - 24.
Twenty-Twenty Matches (Kills-Digs) Marquette - 1 (Vesna Grbavac - 1). Opponents - 0.
Double-Double Matches (Assists-Digs) Marquette - 6 (Liz Egasti - 6). Opponents - 7.
Triple-Double Matches (Kills-Assists-Digs) Marquette - 0. Opponents - 1.
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)
