Marquette University Athletics
Marquette Volleyball To Play At IPFW Invitational
9/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 18, 2002
TOURNEY INFO - The Marquette volleyball team plays its final regular-season tournament this Friday and Saturday (Sept. 20-21) when it takes part in the IPFW Invitational in Fort Wayne, Ind. Joining the Golden Eagles in the tournament will be Wright State, Western Illinois and host IPFW.
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 316-172 including a 6-3 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.
Western Illinois Head Coach Kym McKay (College of St. Francis, '96) is in her first season at the helm of the Westerwinds' program. Prior to her current post, McCay was the head coach at Joliet Junior College and compiled a 98-40 record.
Wright State Head Coach Joylynn Tracy (Wright State, '93) is in her fifth season with the Raiders and owns a school and career ledger of 61-64. Last year, she was named the Tachikara Midwest Region Coach of the Year after leading the team to a 21-7 record.
Kelley Hartley (Toledo, '91) is in her fourth season as the head coach of IPFW and will take a school record of 66-35 into the weekend. In eight years as a head coach, Hartley has a career effort of 204-100.
THE RECORDS -- Marquette will enter the weekend with an overall record of 6-3 following its performance at the Hampton Inn/Jayhawk Classic last weekend in Lawrence, Kansas. MU opened the tourney with a tough five-game setback to Purdue before dropping a three-game decision to Kansas. The Golden Eagles then closed the tournament on a positive note by defeating Southeast Missouri State in three games.
Western Illinois is in search of its first win after dropping its first 11 matches.
Wright State stands 7-3 following a four-game loss to Dayton on Tuesday (Sept. 17) evening.
IPFW evened its record at 6-6 Tuesday night after coming up with a come-from-behind five-game win at home over Bowling Green State.
SERIES NOTES - Marquette trails in the all-time series against Western Illinois by a 2-0 margin. The schools last met in 1990 in the Western Illinois Invitational.
Wright State stands 2-1 vs. the Golden Eagles, however MU did capture the last meeting, a five-game decision in 1998 at the Florida International Tournament.
Saturday's meeting between Marquette and IPFW will mark the first time the schools have met in volleyball.
C-USA PLAY ON THE HORIZON -- Following this weekend's action, Marquette will open Conference USA play on Saturday, Sept. 28, when it plays at East Carolina. The Golden Eagles' first home conference contest will take place on Friday, October 4, when it entertains Louisville starting at 7:00 p.m. at the MU Gym.
GREER CONTINUES CLIMB -- Junior Gemma Greer (Winfield, Ill.) registered 111 assists over the weekend, increasing her career total to 2,323, good for third place on the school's all-time list. Holding down the No. 2 spot is Jennifer Martin (1988-91) with 3,651.
SHANNON DEVINE EARNS ALL-TOURNEY HONORS AT HAMPTION INN/JAYHAWK CLASSIC -- Sophomore Shannon Devine (Harris, Minn.) was the lone Marquette player chosen to the All-Tournament Team at the Jayhawk Classic. Over the weekend, Devine recorded 30 kills, 11 digs and 13 total blocks. In the match against Purdue, she tied for the team lead with 15 attacks while contributing a match-high nine blocks, one shy of tying her career high. Through nine matches, Devine has recorded double figures on eight occasions. At the start of the week, she stood eighth among C-USA players in attack percentage (.310) and blocks (1.08 bpg). She is 34 kills from reaching the 400-career mark.
NIEMCEZEWSKA STRONG IN FINAL TWO MATCHES AT KANSAS TOURNEY -- After hitting for a negative percentage against Purdue, Marquette freshman Aga Niemcezewska (Vernon Hills, Ill.) bounced back in strong fashion in the next two matches, hitting a team-high 23.5 percent (9-5--17) against Kansas while ranking second in that category in the Southeast Missouri State match with a mark of 28.6 percent (12-4--28). Heading into the weekend, she is No. 3 on the team in attacks (3.16 kpg).
MARQUETTE PLAYER NOTES - Freshman Theresa Coughlin's (Chicago) 45.5 attack percentage (18-3--33) against Southeast Missouri State was the second-highest total by a Marquette player this season ... Her 18 kills represented the highest total by a Marquette player for a three-game match ... MU's 12 blocks in the Purdue match tied the team high for the year ... The Golden Eagles posted a 5-0 edge in service aces in the Southeast Missouri State match, the second time this year it had held an opponent without an ace ... Senior Danielle Hagen's (Milwaukee) 12-kills, 13-digs performance vs. Purdue marked her second double-double of the year ... Hagen ranked ninth among C-USA players in digs (3.28 dpg) at the start of the week ... At the start of the week, Marquette held down the No. 3 position among C-USA teams in hitting percentage (.232).
MARQUETTE ON THE INTERNET - Up-to-date Marquette Volleyball information can be found on Marquette's website, located at: www.gomarquette.com
Friday Sept. 20 Marquette vs. Western Illinois 4:30 p.m. Sept. 20 IPFW vs. Wright State 7:00 p.m.Saturday Sept. 21 IPFW vs. Western Illinois 10:30 a.m. Sept. 21 Marquette vs. Wright State 1:00 p.m. Sept. 21 Wright State vs. Western Illinois 4:30 p.m. Sept. 21 Marquette vs. IPFW 7:00 p.m.
