Marquette University Athletics
Marquette Volleyball Eyes Hampton Inn/Jayhawk Classic
9/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 10, 2002
TOURNEY INFO - After turning in a championship performance at the Holiday Inn City Center Challenge this past weekend, the Marquette volleyball team continues tournament play this Friday and Saturday (Sept. 13-14) when it ventures to Lawrence, Kansas, to take part in the Hampton Inn/Jayhawk Classic. Joining the Golden Eagles in the tournament will be host Kansas, Purdue and Southeast Missouri State. A schedule of the matches is listed at the end of this release.
THE COACHES - Marquette is directed by first-year head coach Pati Rolf (North Dakota State, '92) who was appointed to her current position on May 10, 2002. Heading into this weekend, Rolf has a 15-year career won-lost slate of 315-170 including a 5-1 effort at Marquette. She joined the Golden Eagles following a successful 14-year career at Minnesota-Duluth where she compiled a 310-169 won-lost slate.
Purdue Head Coach Jeff Hulsmeyer (Kentucky, '88) is in his fourth season at the helm of the Boilermakers' program and owns a school mark of 39-58. In 10 years of head coaching, Hulsmeyer has a career showing of 199-127.
Kansas Head Coach Ray Bechard (Fort Hays State, '80) is in his fifth season with the Jayhawks and owns a school and career ledger of 67-60 heading into a Sept. 10 match against Wichita State.
Cindy Gannon (Southeast Missouri, '85) is in her 13th season as the head coach of Southeast Missouri State and will take a school and career record of 327-167 into a Sept. 10 contest against Southern Illinois.
THE RECORDS -- Marquette will enter the weekend with an overall record of 5-1 following its championship performance at the Holiday Inn City Center Challenge hosted by the Golden Eagles last weekend. MU opened the tourney with a four-game decision over Valparaiso on Friday evening before topping Lehigh in three games on Saturday morning. In its finale, MU defeated Austin Peay State in three games. Marquette's 5-1 record represents the best six-game start by a Golden Eagles' team since 1997 when that squad raced out to a 10-1 mark.
Purdue takes a 7-1 record into the weekend. The Boilermakers won three of four matches en route to a third-place finish at the Mortar Board Tournament held in West Lafayette.
Kansas stood 4-0 heading into a Tuesday match at Wichita State. The Jayhawks won all three matches at the Hofstra Tournament last weekend.
Southeast Missouri State takes a 3-4 slate into a Tuesday bout against Southern Illinois. The Otahkians finished second at the Mark Twain/Bradley Invitational last weekend, capturing two of three matches.
SERIES NOTES - Marquette trails in the all-time series against Purdue by a 1-0 margin. The only meeting between the schools took place in 1999 when the Boilermakers claimed a five-game win at West Lafayette.
Kansas stands 1-0 vs. the Golden Eagles and Southeast Missouri State holds a 2-0 all-time mark against Marquette.
GREER CONTINUES CLIMB -- Junior Gemma Greer (Winfield, Ill.) registered 84 assists over the weekend, increasing her career total to 2,212, good for third place on the school's all-time list.
SHANNON DEVINE NAMED MVP OF HOLIDAY INN CITY CENTER CHALLENGE -- Sophomore Shannon Devine (Harris, Minn.) was named the MVP of the Holiday Inn City Center Challenge after helping the Golden Eagles to three victories. Devine led all tourney players with 43 kills while also totaling 21 digs and 16 total blocks. In the four-game win over Valparaiso, Devine paced all players with 17 attacks and paced the Golden Eagles with seven blocks. In a three-game victory over Lehigh, she came up with 10 kills and hit 41.2 percent. In the tourney finale against Austin Peay State, she posted a match-high 17 attacks along with chipping in 10 digs and five blocks.
Through matches played Sept. 9, Devine ranks seventh among C-USA players in kills (4.48 kpg) and is tied for seventh in attack percentage (.352). Heading into this weekend's action, Devine has compiled double-figure attacks in all six matches.
MU FROSH COUGHLIN & NIEMCEZEWSKA BRING HOME ALL-TOURNEY HONORS -- Marquette freshman Theresa Coughlin (Chicago) and Aga Niemcezewska (Vernon Hills, Ill.) turned in fine performances at the Holiday Inn City Center Challenge and brought home all-tournament honors. Coughlin came up with 39 attacks, 17 digs and nine service aces over the weekend while Niemcezewska totaled 37 kills. Through matches played Sept. 9, Coughlin holds down the No. 10 position among C-USA performers in attacks (4.08 kpg). In addition, she is seventh in service aces (0.52 apg).
FREER AND HAGEN AMONG C-USA LEADERS IN DIGS -- Senior Danielle Hagen (Milwaukee) and sophomore Erin Freer (Stevensville, Mich.) rank No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, among league players in digs. Hagen shows a 3.72 per-game average while Freer checks in with a 3.40 per-game effort. Both Hagen and Freer have five matches of double-figure digs to their credit.
MARQUETTE PLAYER NOTES - Freer established a career best with 27 digs in the Valparaiso match while Hagen tied her career high in that department in the same contest ... MU's 38.5 hitting percentage (50-13--96) vs. Lehigh was the highest mark by a Golden Eagles' squad since Sept. 24, 1999, when they hit 38.5% vs. Memphis ... MU hit an unheard of 87.0 percent vs. Austin Peay in game 1 of their match (20-0--23) ... Marquette finished with a 29-15 advantage in service aces this past weekend including a 14-0 margin against Lehigh ... MU has outhit its opponents in five of six matches ... Through matches played Sept. 9, Marquette stands first among C-USA teams with a 27.0 attack percentage.
Schedule of Games
Friday Sept. 13 Marquette vs. Purdue 10:00 a.m. (CDT) Sept. 13 Kansas vs. Southeast Missouri State Noon (CDT) Sept. 13 Southeast Missouri State vs. Purdue 5:00 p.m. (CDT) Sept. 13 Marquette vs. Kansas 7:00 p.m. (CDT)Saturday Sept. 14 Marquette vs. Southeast Missouri State 11:00 a.m. (CDT) Sept. 14 Kansas vs. Purdue 1:00 p.m. (CDT)
