Marquette University Athletics
Golden Eagles Have Three Matches On This Week's Schedule
9/20/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 20, 1999
Milwaukee - Golden Eagles To Face Illinois-Chicago on the Road, Marquette Opens C-USA Season with Home Matches Against Memphis, UAB This Weekend The Marquette volleyball team begins the week with a non-conference match at Illinois-Chicago on Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. The Golden Eagles then open Conference USA play this weekend at home with matches against Memphis (Fri., Sept. 24, 7 p.m.) and UAB (Sun., Sept. 26, 2 p.m.).
Scouting Marquette The Golden Eagles are 6-4 on the season and are coming off a third-place finish at last weekend?s Wisconsin Challenge. Marquette lost to Wisconsin (3-0) and UW-Milwaukee (3-0) and defeated UW-Green Bay (3-0).
As a team Marquette averages 14.69 kills, 1.69 aces, 15.29 digs and 2.36 total blocks a game. The Golden Eagles hit a combined .198. Marquette?s opponents average 14.50 kills, 1.33 aces, 14.81 digs and 1.94 blocks a game and hit .181.
Vesna Grbavac tops the team with a 4.14 kills average. She also hits .236 and averages 2.56 digs a game. Mehgan Devine is the team leader in hitting percentage (.281) and blocks average (1.27 bpg).
Kelly Kaylor has the squad?s highest digs average (3.09 dpg) and has served a team-leading 12 aces. Chris Curtin adds 3.37 kills and 1.00 blocks and hits .250.
Head Coach Laura Farina Laura Farina is in her first campaign as a college coach and has a 6-4 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 Illinois-Chicago The Flames are 7-6 overall and went 3-1 at the UMKC Tournament last weekend. UIC defeated North Carolina State, UMKC, Tennessee State and lost to William and Mary.
UIC averages 15.40 kills, 1.9 aces, 16.44 digs and 2.23 blocks a game and hits .224.
Kelly Colangelo averages a team-leading 3.69 kills and 4.00 digs and hits .233. Jill Greer hits .343 and is tied for the team lead in aces with Ann Hintz at 17 apiece. Lynn Clarkson has recorded 41 total blocks for an average of 1.08 bpg.
Don August is in his 19th season at the helm of the Flames and has a 340-314 record. His career mark is the same.
In 13 previous meetings, the Flames have won 12 times. However, Marquette posted its first win in the series the last time the teams met. The Golden Eagles registered a 3-0 win on Sept. 6, 1997 in Milwaukee.
Scouting Memphis The Tigers are 7-6 on the season and 1-0 in Conference USA play. UM posted a 1-2 record at last weekend?s Mississippi State Tournament. Memphis topped Samford, but lost to Louisiana-Layafette and Mississippi State.
Memphis averages 12.43 kills, 1.76 aces, 13.61 digs and 2.03 blocks a game and hits .179 as a team.
April Harriman leads the team in kills average (2.62 kpg) and is closely followed by Ginger Garrett (2.47 kpg). Garrett tops the Tigers with 23 aces. Sarah Wengler hits .263 and averages 0.86 blocks, both best on the team.
In four years at Memphis, head coach Carrie Yerty has compiled a 50-64 record. Her career record is the same.
Memphis holds a 9-3 lead in the all-time series with the Golden Eagles. Last year, Memphis posted a 3-2 victory on Oct. 25 in Milwaukee.
Scouting UAB The Blazers bring a 5-7 overall mark and a 0-1 C-USA record into this week?s action. UAB plays at DePaul on Fri., Sept. 24 before coming to Milwaukee. UAB will be looking to snap a four-match losing streak this week.
UAB averages 13.95 kills, 1.93 aces, 12.76 digs and 1.52 blocks and hits .158.
Denise Feer leads the Blazers in kills (3.50 kpg), aces (0.50 apg) and digs (2.38 dpg). Karla Wehrle hits a team-best .292 and sports a team-leading 0.79 blocks average.
Head coach Judy Sackfield is in her eighth season at UAB and has a 120-145 record. Her 14-year career mark is 185-277.
UAB holds an 8-3 advantage in the all-time series with Marquette. The Golden Eagles posted a 3-0 win over the Blazers on Oct. 23, 1998, the most recent meeting between the two teams.
Last Week in Review Marquette posted a 1-2 record at last weekend?s Wisconsin Challenge in Madison, Wis., which featured the state?s four Division I teams. Here?s a recap of last week?s matches:
WISCONSIN 3, MARQUETTE 0 - The Golden Eagles had their five-match winning streak broken in first-round action of the Wisconsin Challenge, falling to #13 Wisconsin 15-9, 15-9, 15-2. Sophomore outside hitter Kelly Kaylor led Marquette with a .273 hitting percentage 11 kills and 13 digs. Katie Watters served four aces and Mehgan Devine added seven kills. Sherisa Livingston had a match-high 12 kills, while Kelly Kennedy hit .526 (11-1-19) for the Badgers.
UW-MILWAUKEE 3, MARQUETTE 0 - Marquette dropped a 15-11, 15-10, 15-6 decision to UW-Milwaukee in the second round of the Wisconsin Challenge. Despite hitting .255 (53-16-145) and recording seven total team blocks, Marquette allowed the Panthers to hit .321 (70-17-165) and serve 10 aces. Vesna Grbavac led Marquette with 14 kills and tied for team honors with 12 digs. Chris Curtin hit .276 (11-3-29) and had 12 digs, four block solos and two block assists. Katherine Lindros added 10 kills and three aces and hit .292. UWM's Chrissy Schurla led all players with 24 kills and four aces. Ericka Malterer and Sue Raschka each chipped in 13 kills.
MARQUETTE 3, UW-GREEN BAY 0 - The Golden Eagles posted a 15-0, 15-5, 15-7 victory over UW-Green Bay in the final round of the Wisconsin Challenge. Marquette hit a season-high .344 (39-8-90) and had nine aces and eight total team blocks. UW-Green Bay only managed to hit .110 (34-23-100). Vesna Grbavac led the Golden Eagles for the second straight match with 11 kills. She hit .435 (11-1-23) and had six digs. Freshman Danielle Hagen had seven block assists to go with four kills. Mehgan Devine chipped in six block assists and six kills. Liz Egasti registered 33 assists and three aces. UWGB's Angela Sobocinski had 14 kills and seven digs to lead the Phoenix.
Vesna Grbavac Named to Wisconsin Challenge All-Tournament Team Sophomore Vesna Grbavac picked up all-tournament team honors for the second consecutive weekend. She earned a spot on the Wisconsin Challenge All-Tournament Team after averaging 3.44 kills, 2.44 digs and hitting .190 in three matches. She had a double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs against UW-Milwaukee and hit an impressive .435 (11-1-23) in Marquette?s win over UW-Green Bay. She was named the MVP of the Marquette Challenge (Sept. 10-11) after leading Marquette to three wins in the tournament.
Climbing the Career Charts Two Golden Eagles rank among Marquette?s all-time leaders in several statistical categories. Here?s the breakdown:
Kills
4. Chris Curtin - 1,027 (23 shy of third)
Attempts
6. Chris Curtin - 2,462 (400 shy of fifth)
Assists
2. Liz Egasti - 3,281 (370 shy of first)
Block Solos
6. Chris Curtin - 56 (6 shy of fifth)
Block Assists
4. Chris Curtin - 255 (6 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 1,027 1996-present
Golden Eagles Face Tough Schedule Marquette has one match remaining against a nationally-ranked opponent. The Golden Eagles will face No. 6 Florida at the Florida Volleyball Conference Challenge on Nov. 27. Marquette dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 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.
Season Superlatives
Team
Kills - 70 vs. Providence - Sept. 10
Hitting Attempts - 221 vs. Providence - Sept. 10
Hitting % - .344 (39-8-90) vs. UW-Green Bay - Sept. 18
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
Hitting Attempts - 62 - Grbavac vs. Northern Illinois - Sept. 7
Hitting % - .538 (16-2-26) - Grbavac vs. Bowling Green - Sept. 11
Assists - 57 - Egasti vs. Northern Illinois - Sept. 7
Aces - 4 - Watters vs. Wisconsin - Sept. 18, 4 - Watters vs. Bowling Green - Sept. 11
Digs - 19 - Egasti vs. Providence - Sept. 10, 19 - Kaylor vs. Purdue - Sept. 4
Block Solos - 4 - Curtin vs. UW-Milwaukee - Sept. 18
Block Assists - 7 - Hagen vs. UW-Green Bay - Sept. 18, 7 - Egasti vs. Providence - Sept. 10
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)
