Marquette Volleyball Team Face Road Challenges

Sept. 22, 2000

Friday, Sept. 22 Marquette at Memphis 7:00 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24 Marquette at UAB 2:00 p.m.

GAME INFO -- Hoping to snap a seven-match losing streak while capturing its first C-USA win, the Marquette volleyball team faces a pair of road tests. On Friday (Sept. 22), the Golden Eagles will battle the Tigers of Memphis before meeting UAB on Sunday (Sept. 24). The Elma Roane Field House (2,618) on the Memphis campus will be the site of the 15th meeting between Memphis and Marquette and match time is slated for 7:00 p.m. Bartow Arena on the UAB campus will be the setting for the 13th confrontation between the Blazers and Golden Eagles and that contest will start at 2:00 p.m.

THE COACHES -- Marquette is directed by second-year head coach Laura Farina (Illinois, '92) who owns a two-year record of 19-24. Last season Farina directed MU to an overall record of 18-13 with the team's 58.1 winning percentage the highest since 1985. Heading into the weekend, Farina stands 11-17 in road/neutral games. She is 2-0 against Memphis. Memphis Head Coach Carrie Yerty (Washington State, '92) is in her fifth season at the helm of the Tiger program and she posts a school and career ledger of 61-84. UAB Head Coach Melinda Claiborne (Washington, '90) is in her first season as a head coach. Prior to her appointment at UAB, Claiborne was an assistant at Georgia (1997-99).

SERIES NOTES -- Memphis holds a 9-5 advantage in the all-time series against Marquette. Last year, however, the Golden Eagles captured a pair of three-game wins against the Tigers. UAB stands 8-4 all time against the Golden Eagles. During the 1999 campaign, MU posted a 3-0 win over the Blazers in the lone match between the schools.

THE RECORDS -- Marquette stands 1-11 following a setback at DePaul in the C-USA opener for both schools. The Golden Eagles lost in three games to DU, 13-15, 5-15, 13-15. Memphis will entertain MU sporting an overall record of 5-6. Last weekend, the Tigers lost three of four matches in the Memphis Invitational with their lone win coming against Nicholls State. UAB enters a Friday night match against DePaul with an overall slate of 4-7. In their most recent outing, the Blazers dropped a three-game match to Mississippi State on Tuesday (Sept. 19) evening.

MARQUETTE TEAM NOTES -- Entering this weekend's action, the Golden Eagles are hitting 17.6 percent compared to the opposition's mark of 27.1 percent ... MU has been out hit in 11 of its 12 matches ... In its last four games, Marquette is hitting 18.8 percent (194-98--509) vs. the opposition's mark of 35.4 percent (231-55-496) ... The Golden Eagles have dished out 81 service aces vs. 67 for the opposition ... MU is averaging 1.83 blocks per game vs. the opposition's mark of 2.31 per contest.

DEVINE CLIMBING LADDER -- Entering the weekend, junior Mehgan Devine (Harris, Minn.) holds down the No. 7 spot on the school's all-time chart for both solo blocks (51) and block assists (190). Devine has five matches of three or more block assists this season including three against DePaul (Sept. 19).

GOLDEN EAGLE PLAYER TIDBTS -- Freshman outside hitter Ann Lopata's (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) team-high 13 kills in the DePaul contest represented her fifth straight match of double-figure kills and 10th of the year ... Lopata also came up with a season-high three block assists ... She still stands as the team's leader in kills (171) and attack percentage (23.2%) ... Entering the Memphis match, Lopata has a hitting percentage of 28.1 percent (40-13--96) in her last three outings ... Mehgan Devine's team-high 14 digs in the DePaul match tied her career best and marked the seventh time in her career that she had finished with double figures in that category ... Freshman Megan Markowski's (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) nine kills against DePaul snapped a three-match streak where she had registered 10 or more kills ... The 5-foot-11 rookie is MU's leader in digs with 120 (2.67 dpg) and she claims five outings of 10 or more digs this season ... In her last three games, sophomore Danielle Hagen (Milwaukee, Wis.) has come up a 33.3 attack percentage (24-7--51) ... Sophomore Annie Richey's (St. Louis, Mo.) six kills against DePaul represented her second-highest total of the season.

SCOUTING MEMPHIS -- As a team, the Tigers are hitting 19.9 percent while their opponents show a 20.2 percent mark. Senior April Harriman leads the squad in both kills with 144 (4.0 kpg) and digs with 125. No. 2 on the team in kills with 106 (3.03 kpg) is junior Ginger Garrett.

SCOUTING UAB -- Through 11 matches, the Blazers show a 16.1 attack percentage while their opponents are connecting at a 24.1 percent mark. UAB's top attack threats are juniors Laura Burke (2.97 kpg) and Shelly Greene (3.03 kpg).

MARQUETTE ON THE INTERNET -- Up-to-date Marquette Volleyball information can be found on Marquette's website, located at: www.gomarquette.com

MARQUETTE HAS FORMIDABLE SCHEDULE -- The 2000 Marquette squad will face a demanding schedule with a total of seven teams that participated in last season's NCAA Tournament, three from C-USA and four non-league foes. Out-of-conference opponents that the Golden Eagles will tangle with include Arkansas State (Sept. 8), UW-Milwaukee (Sept. 12), Indiana (Sept. 16) and Loyola Marymount (Sept. 16). League teams that advanced to the national tournament a year ago include Houston, Cincinnati and Louisville.

2000 C-USA Standings (as of 9/19/00)

American Division

Team (Overall Record)       W   L   PCTDePaul (10-3)           1   0   1.000Cincinnati  (8-4)       1   0   1.000Charlotte (5-5)         1   0   1.000Louisville (6-4)        0   1   .000Saint Louis (5-6)       0   1   .000Marquette (1-11)        0   1   .000

National Division
Houston (7-3)           1   0   1.000Tulane (7-4)            1   0   1.000Memphis (5-6)           0   0   .000UAB (4-7)           0   0   .000South Florida (7-4)     0   1   .000Southern Miss (5-6)     0   1   .000

2000 MARQUETTE INDIVIDUAL HIGHS

Kills

26, Ann Lopata vs. UW-Milwaukee (9/12)

23, Ann Lopata vs. Eastern Illinois (9/2)

22, Ann Lopata vs. Arkansas State (9/8)

20, Mehgan Devine vs. Arkansas State (9/8)

Attack Attempts

65, Ann Lopata vs. UW-Milwaukee (9/12)

50, Ann Lopata vs. Eastern Illinois (9/2)

45, Ann Lopata vs. Northern Illinois (9/2)

45, Mehgan Devine vs. Arkansas State (9/8)

Assists