Marquette University Athletics
Volleyball to Wrap Up Regular Season
11/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Marquette visits North Carolina with 20 wins within sight
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Marquette volleyball finishes its regular season this week with two matches on the road. The first is at Charlotte on Friday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. EST. The second is at East Carolina on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. EST. Two wins would give Marquette 20 victories for the first time since 1985, when the team played 39 matches in its season. Marquette?s highest win total since then was 19 in 2001. The Golden Eagles have long qualified for the 12-team Conference USA Tournament and are now playing for seeding. Marquette could reach as high as the second seed, but will more likely be a third or fourth seed. The Golden Eagles could still be a fifth seed, but a pair of wins will prevent that from happening. The top four seeds get first-round byes in the C-USA Tournament.
Scouting Charlotte
Charlotte comes in to its final two matches also looking for a 20-win season with a pair of wins. However, their Conference USA run has not been as strong as Marquette?s. Charlotte is 4-7 in league play and owns an 18-16 record and is in a three-way tie for 10th. The 49ers are in the Conference USA Tournament and are playing for seeding. However, only one match separates the group in 10th place from the four teams in sixth place, so a high seeding is in the sights of Charlotte. Charlotte is coming off a pair of losses to league-leaders Louisville and Cincinnati. Middle blocker Lisa Newell is an accurate attacker, owning a 31.9 attack percentage. Abbey Szlanfucht leads the team with 426 kills and 4.02 kills per game, the seventh best total in Conference USA.
Scouting East Carolina
East Carolina owns the same positioning with Charlotte, having a 4-7 record in league play. While the Pirates overall record of 10-16 is less than that of Charlotte, they are still in the hunt for a high Conference USA seed, trailing the pack in sixth place by a half match. A pair of wins over the weekend could leave East Carolina in the upper tier of Conference USA heading into the league?s tournament. Like Charlotte, East Carolina is coming off losses to Louisville and Cincinnati. East Carolina lacks one dominant attacker. Four players have a 2.0 kills per game or better average. Erica Wilson leads the team with a 2.92 kills per game total.
Vernon Named Setter-of-the-Week for Third Time
Senior setter Sarah Vernon was named Conference USA Setter-of-the-Week on November 8. It is Vernon?s third selection as Setter-of-the-Week by the Conference USA office and it is Marquette?s fourth C-USA Player-of-the-Week selection this season.
In a pair of 3-0 wins over Tulane and Southern Miss, Vernon averaged 15.0 assists per game, 3.5 digs per game and 0.83 service aces per game. The senior assisted in extending her team?s win streak to three matches. Vernon had 44 assists and 11 digs against Tulane on Friday, followed by 46 assists and 10 digs against Southern Miss on Saturday. The senior also tallied a career-best tying four service aces against Southern Miss.
Team Raises $4,500 in ?Dig for the Cure?
Marquette had a three-game best 72 digs against Tulane on November 5. The extremely high dig total just happen to come on ?Dig for the Cure? night. Senior Libero Erin Freer, the team?s leading digger, came up with 20 digs for the contest and the most donations as Marquette helped the local chapter of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation.
Looking for 20 Wins
Marquette is two wins away from having its first 20 win season since the 1985 season. Marquette has had six 20-win seasons in history, but many of those came when the team was playing as many as 50 matches in a season. If Marquette wins its next two matches, it will have the second-best winning percentage of any team in Marquette volleyball history, trailing the 1985 squad which went 31-7.
Vernon Has Second Career Triple Double
Senior setter Sarah Vernon had her second career triple double in a 3-2 win over Saint Louis on Oct. 30. Vernon had 70 assists, 13 kills and 16 digs in the win. She had her first career triple double last season in a 3-2 win over Wis.-Milwaukee, recording 11 kills, 59 assists and 12 digs. The 70 assists against Saint Louis was also Vernon?s career best.
Golden Eagles Go the Distance
For the first time in 2004, Marquette played a five game match. It took 21 matches before the Golden Eagles went the distance. Marquette had lost just 19 games prior to its 3-2 loss to Memphis on Oct. 29. The following night, Marquette played a five-gamer, a 3-2 win over Saint Louis.
Freer Sets Career Digs Mark
Senior Libero Erin Freer has become Marquette?s all-time record holder in digs. She surpassed Keelyn Krill with her eighth dig against Houston making her the all-time leader at Marquette in that category. Freer has since smashed the digs record. She started the season third on the all-time digs list.
Coughlin Closes in on Career Kills Mark
Junior outside hitter Theresa Coughlin is closing in on Marquette?s all-time kills record. With a productive weekend against Tulane and Southern Miss, Coughlin recorded 30 kills, she moved up to the no. 2 spot all-time. She currently has 1,191 kills and trails Chris Curtin by 89 kills. Coughlin started the season 10th in that category.
Brown Sets Match Record in Blocks
Freshman middle blocker Jenn Brown had a dominating performance in the win over Houston. Brown recorded 12 assisted blocks, breaking the single-match school record held by three others. Brown totalled 14 blocks on the night, leading Marquette to a season best 21.0 blocks.
Rolf Wins 350th Career Match
Picking up a victory against UAB, head coach Pati Rolf claimed her 350th career win. She also has upper her record at Marquette to 45-38, putting her seven games over .500 for the first time at Marquette.
Todd Picks Up Player-of-the-Week Honors, Sets Career Best
Marquette freshman outside hitter Kimberley Todd was named Conference USA Player-of-the-Week on Monday, Oct. 18. Todd is the first freshman to earn C-USA Player of the Week honors this season as she helped the Golden Eagles to a weekend sweep of USF and UAB.
Todd?s nomination is the third for the Marquette volleyball team this season. Senior setter Sarah Vernon has been named C-USA Setter-of-the-Week twice this season, including last week.
Todd set a collegiate best with 24 kills in a 3-1 win over USF, bettering her previous collegiate high by 10 kills. She followed that performance 11 kills against UAB.
Marquette Leads C-USA in Assists
Marquette leads Conference USA in assists per game at 15.01. That total is 28th in the NCAA. Marquette opponents are hitting 14.6 percent for the season, the second best total in Conference USA. The Golden Eagles are just behind Louisville, who is having its opponents hit 13.2 percent. This season, Marquette has held 12 opponents under a 15.0 hitting percentage for a match. Marquette is also second in the league in kills, blocks and digs.
Mueller Moves Up
Sophomore Jamie Mueller was in the starting lineup against DePaul. That is nothing new. The fact that she played outside hitter was. It was her first time at the net and she responded with 10 kills and a season high 19 digs. In her nine matches as outside hitter, she has had no fewer than eight kills and is averaging 3.00 kills per game in that stretch.
If You Build it, They Will Come
Marquette set a program attendance record in its match against no. 21 Louisville on Oct. 2. The Golden Eagles had 733 in attendance. That was 22 fans more than watch Marquette and Cincinnati two years ago at the Marquette Gym.
More fans came out for the season finale against Southern Miss. That match drew 824 spectators. For the year, Marquette averaged 463 fans at home.
Heisser, Brown Tough at the Net
Senior middle blocker Erica Heisser leads the team in two categories, but she?s especially dominant for Marquette in net defense. She leads the team with 1.16 blocks per game (eighth in C-USA). Freshman Jenn Brown has moved past the 1.00 blocks per game mark as well, with 1.04. She is just outside the top 10 in Conference USA.
Marquette Second in Midwest in RichKern.com Rankings
Marquette is second among teams in the midwest according to the recent rankings from RichKern.com, an RPI-based rating system. Marquette is also the second highest ranked team in Conference USA according to the ranking system, only trailing Louisville. Marquette RKPI rating is 54.
Coughlin, Vernon Reach 1,000 Marks
Junior outside hitter Theresa Coughlin started the season needing 133 kills to have 1,000 in her career, becoming the seventh Marquette player to reach that mark. Senior setter Sarah Vernon needed 361 assists at season?s beginning to become the eighth player in school history to pass the 1,000 assist mark. Both reached the mark on the same play in game three, up 15-12, against Wis.-Milwaukee on Sept. 21.
Heisser Sets Career Mark for Kills
Senior middle blocker Erica Heisser set a collegiate best mark with 20 kills in a 3-1 loss to Rutgers. She was accurate during the contest, missing just four of her 37 attacks for a 43.2 attack percentage.
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