Mueller Digs Deep as Volleyball Rolls By Syracuse, 3-1

Oct. 14, 2006

MILWAUKEE - Senior Jamie Mueller set the career-digs record, now at 1,415, and junior Monica Renfrow tallies a career-high 59 assists to lead the Marquette volleyball team to a 3-1 (30-23, 25-30, 30-19, 30-17) victory over Syracuse on Saturday afternoon at the Manley Fieldhouse in Syracuse, N.Y. Mueller surpassed assistant coach Erin Freer (2001-04) for the record, who entered the match two digs in front of the outside hitter with 1,405. The Golden Eagles improved to 5-2 in the BIG EAST and 9-10 overall with the win, while the Orange fell to 2-5 in conference play, and 7-18 overall.

Syracuse jumped out to a three-point lead, up 6-3 to starts the first game, before blocks by freshman Leslie Bielski and junior Kimberley Todd tied the game at 11. The teams remained within two points of each other, but with the Golden Eagles up 20-19, they went on a 6-1 run, capped on blocks by Renfrow and Todd, to increase their lead to 26-20. MU maintained its advantage, taking a 1-0 lead in the match with a 30-23 victory.

The Orange took charge once again to start the second stanza, going ahead 7-3. A kill by Mueller cut the MU deficit to two at 11-9, but only before a 5-0 run by SU increased its lead to seven at 16-9. Syracuse would go up by as much as 10 at 24-14, and despite Marquette cutting the lead to five at 29-24 on a kill by senior Nicole Wallace, the Orange tied the match at 1-1 with a 30-25 game-two victory.

Marquette took the advantage to start the third stanza, going up four at 6-2 on a kill by junior Jenn Brown. A 9-2 run by Syracuse gave SU an 11-8 lead, but a kill by Mueller highlighted a 4-0 run by MU as they retook the lead, 12-11. A kill by Todd increased the lead to 20-13, and soon, the Golden Eagles were up by nine on a kill by Mueller at 24-15. An error by the Orange on game point gave Marquette a two-games-to-one lead, as they took the frame 30-19.

The fourth game remained close early on as Marquette found itself up at 8-7, b efore a 6-0 run gave the Golden Eagles a 14-7 advantage. MU remained in control of the frame going up 10 on a kill by Renfrow, before a kill by Todd sealed the game, 30-17, and the match 3-1.

Mueller finished with a double-double (20 K, 12 D), as did Renfrow, recording 59 assists 13 digs along with eight kills. Todd added 19 kills for the Golden Eagles who recorded a team season-high 37.1 hitting percentage.

The Golden Eagles return to action on Friday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m., when they host the Pittsburgh Panthers at the Al McGuire Center, just days before welcoming the West Virginia Mountaineers to town, Oct. 22 at 2 p.m.