Marquette University Athletics
Volleyball Prepares for C-USA Tournament
11/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Golden Eagles enter C-USA Tournament as third seed
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For the first time in school history, Marquette earned a first-round bye in the Conference USA Tournament, awarded to the top four seeds in the event. Marquette comes in to the tournament strong, winning its last five matches. It has won 11 of the last 12 contests, with the only loss in that stretch coming on the road to Memphis, in five games and in extra points. In its 26 matches, Marquette has only lost 26 games all season.
Marquette will play the winner of the Tulane/Charlotte first-round contest on Saturday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. EST in Louisville, Ky., in the quarterfinal round. Should Marquette advance, it would play either Cincinnati, Saint Louis or USF in the semifinals on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. EST. The tournament final is set for 8 p.m. EST on Sunday, Nov. 22. The C-USA Championship match will air live on CSTV.
About the C-USA Tournament
Marquette heads into its final Conference USA Tournament, owning the third seed, its highest seed ever. Previously, Marquette?s highest seed came as a sixth seed in 1996, 2001 and 2003. The Golden Eagles own a 7-9 record in C-USA Tournament games. Marquette is 5-4 in first round games, 2-3 in the quarterfinals and 0-2 in the semifinals. Both Marquette?s semifinal round losses have come to Louisville. The Golden Eagles cannot meet Louisville until the final round this year. Marquette?s previous semifinal appearances came last season and in 2001.
Louisville enters the tournament as the top seed. Marquette tied for second in the league standings, but lost the tie breaker to Cincinnati. TCU also tied for second and is the fourth seed.
Marquette Sweeps Final Player-of-the Week Awards
Senior setter Sarah Vernon was named Conference USA Setter-of-the-Week and senior middle blocker Erica Heisser was named C-USA Player-of-the-Week, the league office announced on November 15. It was Vernon?s fourth selection as Setter-of-the-Week by the Conference USA office and it was Heisser?s first. It is the fifth and sixth times that a Marquette player has been selected C-USA Player-of-the-Week.
Heisser led all Marquette attackers with 39 kills (4.88 kills per game) in Marquette?s 3-1 wins over Charlotte and East Carolina on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The middle blocker hit a team-best 40.0 percent for the week. Heisser also set a career mark for kills with 21 against the Pirates and hit 42.1 percent, which marked the fifth time this season she hit over 40 percent. Heisser scored 10 more points than any other Marquette player over the two matches with 43.5 points.
Vernon had 114 assists for two matches against Charlotte and East Carolina, averaging 14.25 assists per game. She recorded a double-double against Charlotte, her 11th of the season, with 51 assists and 13 kills against the 49ers. She was one kill and one dig away from a triple-double against ECU, with nine kills, nine digs and assisting on 63 attacks. She had 2.75 kills per game and hit .388 for the week, the second-best total for Marquette players behind Heisser. She also had five blocks in the two contests.
Vernon was also named Setter-of-the-Week on November 8, October 11 and September 15.
Team Raises $6,000 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.
20-Win Mark
Marquette claimed its first 20 win season since the 1985 season. Marquette has now had seven 20-win seasons in history, but many of those came when the team was playing as many as 50 matches in a season. Marquette has the second-best winning percentage of any team in Marquette volleyball history, trailing the 1985 squad which went 31-7.
Brown Sets Career Kills Mark
In the midst of an offensive outburst, freshman middle blocker Jenn Brown set her career best with 12 kills against Charlotte on Nov. 12. Previously, Brown?s career high was 10 against Md.-Eastern Shore. Those are her only two matches with 10 or more kills.
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
It took 21 matches before the Golden Eagles needed to play five games. 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 with 1,370. 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 1,222 kills and trails Chris Curtin by 58. Coughlin started the season 10th in that category. Coughlin is also second on the all-time attacks list. She has 3,080 in her career, trailing Curtin by seven.
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 in her Marquette career.
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 was the third of six for the Marquette volleyball team this season.
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 first nine matches as outside hitter, she has had no fewer than eight kills and averaged 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, the second-best total in Conference USA.
Heisser, Brown Tough at the Net
Senior middle blocker is especially dominant for Marquette in net defense. She leads the team with 1.12 blocks per game (ninth in C-USA). Freshman Jenn Brown has moved past the 1.00 blocks per game mark as well, with 1.00. 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 44.
Golden Eagles Win Six in a Row
Marquette won six matches from Oct. 5 to Oct. 23 to set its season standard for consecutive wins. Marquette finished the 2003 season winning nine in a row. Those two streaks are the two longest win streaks in the program in the last six seasons. Currently, Marquette is on a five-match win streak.
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 Two Career Mark for Kills
Senior middle blocker Erica Heisser landed 21 kills against East Carolina to break her barely two-month old career kills total in a 3-1 win. She earned C-USA Player-of-the-Week honors as a result. Previously, she 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.
Trio Named All-Tournament at Marquette Challenge
Three Marquette players were named to the All-Tournament team at the Holiday Inn City Center Milwaukee Marquette Challenge. Junior outside hitter Theresa Coughlin was named to the team after leading Marquette with 34 kills during the tournament. Senior setter Sarah Vernon was named to the team after averaging 9.20 assists. Freshman outside hitter Kimberley Todd was also named to the team after leading Marquette with 10 kills against Drake.
Coughlin, Heisser Named All-Tournament
Junior outside hitter Theresa Coughlin and senior middle blocker Erica Heisser were named to the Radisson Invitational all-tournament team. For Coughlin, it was her second all-tournament team selection of the season. During the three-match tournament, Coughlin led the way for Marquette with a 4.18 kills per game average. She also tallied 2.00 digs per game. Heisser had 20 kills during the tournament and hit 31.2 percent for the event.
Vernon Named Setter-of-the-Week
Senior setter Sarah Vernon was named Conference USA setter-of-the-week on September 15. In the first match of the Western Michigan Tournament, she set a career high with 15 kills against Maine to go with her 34 assists. She finished the tournament against Western Michigan with a season-best 56 digs to go with 13 digs.
Freer Reaches 1,000 Dig Mark
Senior Libero Erin Freer became the third person in Marquette volleyball history to pass the 1,000 dig mark. She needed six digs heading into the first match of the season, and she totalled eight in the contest against North Dakota State. With 101 digs on the season, Freer has 1,150 and is second all-time on the school?s list. Freer started the season 241 digs away from becoming the school record holder in that category and currently needs 36.
Todd, Freer Named All-Tournament
Freshman Kimberley Todd and senior Libero Erin Freer were each named to the all-tournament team at the Marquette-hosted Jesuit Joust. Todd set career bests with 14 kills against Boston College and Loyola (Ill.). She had 38 for the tournament, a 4.22 per game average. It was her second all-tournament team of the season. Freer averaged 4.11 digs per game to be named to the team.
Coughlin Named Preseason All C-USA
Junior outside hitter Theresa Coughlin was named Preseason All-Conference USA by the league?s coaches, the league office announced.
Coughlin brings impressive credentials to the 2004 season. She was a second-team All C-USA selection last season and was named AVCA All-Midwest Region Honorable Mention. Coughlin had 488 kills and hit 25.8 percent last year. With 867 career kills, she is 133 kills away from being the seventh player to reach the 1,000-kill mark in Marquette history. She is 413 kills away from setting Marquette?s career kills mark.
Marquette Picked Fifth in C-USA Preseason Poll
As a team, Marquette was picked fifth in the preseason league poll. Marquette finished sixth in 2003, riding a nine match win streak to end the season. The Golden Eagles advanced to the Conference USA Tournament semifinal round in Rolf?s second season at Marquette.
The Golden Eagles were picked to finish behind Louisville, Cincinnati, Houston, and Tulane.
Conference Title Match to Air on CSTV
The Conference USA Championship match will air Monday night at 7 p.m. (8 p.m. EST) on College Sports Television. The match will air live with Don Russell and Audrey Flaugh calling the action. If Marquette advances to the tournament final, it will air locally on WMLW Ch. 41 at 7 p.m.
NCAA Tournament Selection
The NCAA Tournament selection will air live on ESPNews on Sunday, Nov. 28 at 5 p.m.
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