Golden Eagles To Play At Wisconsin Challenge This Weekend

Sept. 14, 1999

Milwaukee - - Bragging rights for the state of Wisconsin are up for grabs this weekend when the state?s four teams will play at the Wisconsin Challenge in Madison, Wis.

Marquette faces #13 Wisconsin Friday evening at 7 p.m. The Golden Eagles take on UW-Milwaukee on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. Marquette rounds out tournament play with a match against UW-Green Bay Saturday evening at 5 p.m.

Scouting Marquette The Golden Eagles, 5-2 on the season, are in the midst of a five-match winning streak, the team?s longest since the start of the 1997 season, Last week Marquette posted wins at Northern Illinois and swept the Marquette Challenge with victories over Providence, Bowling Green and Mississippi State. The 5-2 record is the best after seven matches since 1997, when that squad was 6-1 at the same point of the season.

As a team Marquette averages 14.93 kills, 1.67 aces, 15.40 digs and 2.46 blocks a game.

Individually, Vesna Grbavac is off to a tremendous start with 4.37 kills and 2.19 digs averages to go with a .249 hitting percentage. She has reached double figures in kills in six of seven matches and was the MVP of last weekend?s Marquette Challenge.

Mehgan Devine, who also was named the All-Tournament Team at the Marquette Challenge, leads the team in hitting percentage (.278) and blocks (1.45 bpg) and chips in 2.30 kills a game. Chris Curtin adds 3.63 kills, 2.52 digs, 1.00 blocks and a .261 hitting percentage.

Kelly Kaylor paces the team with 10 aces and a 3.22 digs average. Setter Liz Egasti averages 11.78 assists and 2.59 digs a game.

Head Coach Laura Farina Laura Farina is in her first campaign as a college coach and has a 5-2 record. Her 5-2 start surpasses Tat Shiely?s 3-4 mark after seven matches for the best start by a first-year Marquette coach.

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 Wisconsin The Badgers are 4-2 on the season and ranked 13th nationally. UW had a four-match winning streak snapped by #6 Florida last Saturday. UW plays at #5 Nebraska on Wednesday before hosting this weekend?s tournament.

Wisconsin averages 14.38 kills, 2.43 aces, 14.05 digs and 2.88 blocks a game and hits .234.

Jenny Maastricht tops UW with 3.52 kills and 2.86 digs averages and hits .282. Marie Meyer hits a team-high .315 and averages 2.40 kills and 1.27 blocks. Sherisa Livingston averages 1.33 blocks a game and chips in 2.83 kills. Allyson Ross contributes 3.10 kills and 2.52 digs a game.

First-year head coach Pete Waite is off to a 4-2 start with the Badgers. His 12-year career mark is 270-104.

Wisconsin leads the all-time series with Marquette by a 16-2 margin. The two teams last met on Sept. 15, 1998 in Milwaukee with Wisconsin posting a 3-0 victory.

Scouting UW-Milwaukee The Panthers are 8-0 on the season and have won tournament titles each of the last two weekends.

UWM averages 16.64 kills, 1.75 aces, 15.39 digs and 1.82 blocks a game. The Panthers hit .285 as a team.

Ericka Malterer tops the team with a 3.93 kills average and hits a team-leading .359. Laura Dallenbach averages 3.64 kills and a team-best 3.00 digs a game. Chrissy Schurla is the team leader with an 0.88 blocks average and chips in 3.50 kills.

Head coach Kathy Litzau is 103-93 in seven seasons at the helm of the Panthers. Her career mark is the same.

UWM holds a 40-20-1 lead in the series with Marquette and Saturday?s contest will be the second meeting of the season between the two teams. The Panthers posted a 3-0 win in the first round of the Mortar Board Purdue Premier on Sept. 3 in West Lafayette, Ind.

Scouting UW-Green Bay The Phoenix are 2-7 this season and are looking to snap a six-match losing streak.

UWGB averages 9.06 kills, 1.52 aces, 10.61 digs and 0.71 blocks a game, while hitting .084.

Meg Olson tops the Phoenix with a 2.43 kills average and also chips in 2.10 digs a game. Setter Natalie Noonan averages 6.58 assists and hits .205. Angie Sobocinski averages a team-leading 2.28 digs a game.

Head coach Debbie Kirch has a 9-63 record in three seasons at UWGB. Her career mark is the same.

Marquette and UW-Green Bay have met 26 times and the Golden Eagles hold a 17-9 advantage. The last meeting came on Sept. 22, 1998 in Milwaukee and Marquette was victorious 3-0.

Last Week in Review Marquette won four matches and extended its winning streak to five matches. The winning streak is second longest in Conference USA.

Here?s a recap of last week?s matches:

MARQUETTE 3, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 1 - The Golden Eagles posted a 15-12, 18-16, 9-15, 15-3 win at Northern Illinois on Sept. 7. The win snapped the Huskies' 36-match winning streak at Evans Field House, which dated back to the 1996 season.

Marquette outhit NIU .149-.121 and had 68 kills, to the Huskies' 66. NIU also had 14 costly service errors. Chris Curtin and Vesna Grbavac topped Marquette with 23 kills apiece. Curtin hit .357 (23-8-42) and added one block solo and five block assists. Grbavac had 11 digs and four block assists. Kelly Kaylor chipped in 11 kills, 15 digs and two service aces. NIU's Mandy Swick had a match-high 25 kills to go with 17 digs.

MARQUETTE CHALLENGE (Sept. 10-11)

MARQUETTE 3, PROVIDENCE 2 - Marquette recorded a thrilling 15-9, 13-15, 6-15, 15-11, 19-17 win over Providence in the opening round of the Marquette Challenge. Senior Katie Watters served an ace on the fifth match point for Marquette. It was the home opener for the Golden Eagles and a boisterous crowd of 389 packed the Marquette Gym.

Marquette outhit the Lady Friars .158-.097 and had 17 total team blocks. The Golden Eagles overcame 21 service errors, while PC committed 17.

Vesna Grbavac registered team highs with 19 kills and a .218 hitting percentage to go with 14 digs. Chris Curtin added 18 kills, 17 digs and five block assists. Kelly Kaylor contributed 15 kills, 17 digs and three aces.

PC's Sarah Katinger led all players with 22 kills. Annie Cella had 16 kills and 30 digs.

MARQUETTE 3, BOWLING GREEN 0 - The Golden Eagles recorded a 15-11, 15-4, 15-11 victory over Bowling Green in the second round of the Marquette Challenge.

The Golden Eagles hit .240 and limited the Falcons to an .067 hitting percentage. Marquette also recorded 50 digs to BG's 27 and served eight aces.

Marquette Challenge Results

1. Marquette - 3-0

2. Bowling Green - 2-1

3. Providence - 1-2

4. Mississippi State - 0-3

Bowling Green def. Mississippi State - 18-16, 15-7, 15-12

Marquette def. Providence - 15-9, 13-15, 6-15, 15-11, 19-17

Providence def. Mississippi State - 15-7, 15-2, 15-10

Marquette def. Bowling Green - 15-11, 15-4, 15-11

Bowling Green def. Providence - 15-12, 3-15, 15-8, 16-14

Marquette def. Mississippi State - 15-12, 15-6, 15-6

All-Tournament Team

Vesna Grbavac, Marquette - MVP, Annie Cella, Providence, Mehgan Devine, Marquette, Colleen Lee, Providence, Melissa Lewis, Bowling Green, Melanie DiMuzio, Mississippi State

Vesna Grbavac Named MVP of Marquette Challenge, Mehgan Devine Also Chosen to All-Tournament Team Sophomore Vesna Grbavac was named the MVP of the Marquette Challenge and was joined by classmate Mehgan Devine on the all-tournament team.

Grbavac averaged 4.00 kills and 2.82 digs and hit .259 in Marquette?s three wins. Devine averaged 2.22 kills and 1.89 blocks a game and hit .341 in the three weekend matches

Climbing the Career Charts Two Golden Eagles rank among Marquette?s all-time leaders in several statistical categories. Here?s the breakdown:

Kills 5. Chris Curtin 1,007 (23 shy of fourth)

Attempts 7. Chris Curtin 2,404 (43 shy of sixth)

Assists 2. Liz Egasti 3,171 (480 shy of first)

Block Solos 6. Chris Curtin 52 (10 shy of fifth)

Block Assists 4. Chris Curtin 251 (10 shy of third)

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

Kristin Patterson 1,038 1983-85

Jeni Myers 1,030 1995-98

CHRIS CURTIN 1,007 1996-present

Golden Eagles Face Tough Schedule Marquette will play two teams that appear in the Sept. 6 USA Today/AVCA Preseason Top 25 Poll. Florida checks in at No. 6, while Wisconsin is ranked No. 13.

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.

Season Superlatives

Team

Kills 70 vs. Providence - Sept. 10

Hitting Attempts 221 vs. Providence - Sept. 10

Hitting % .255 (61-19-165) vs. Stephen F. Austin - Sept. 4

Assists 63 vs. Providence - Sept. 10

Aces 10 vs. Mississippi State - Sept. 11

Digs 100 vs. Providence - Sept. 10

Block Solos 5 vs. Stephen F. Austin - Sept. 4

Block Assists 27 vs. Providence - Sept. 10

Individual

Kills 23 - Curtin vs. Northern Illinois - Sept. 7, 23 - Grbavac vs. Northern Illinois - Sept. 7