Volleyball Shocks No. 3 Pittsburgh, 3-1, to Advance to BIG EAST Semifinals

Nov. 17, 2006

CINCINNATI - The No. 6 Marquette volleyball team, behind a BIG EAST record 19 blocks by junior Jenn Brown, upset No. 3 seeded Pittsburgh, 3-1 (30-26, 30-25, 29-31, 30-24), in the conference tournament Friday morning at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. With the victory, the Golden Eagles (16-12, 10-4) advance to the tournament semifinals, Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, to face the winner of the No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 7 Connecticut match.

"I really felt we could come out and win this match today," said head coach Pati Rolf. "When we played them before we lost in five games and I felt like we didn't do some of the things we needed to do. The biggest thing with Pittsburgh is that they have two monstrous outside hitters and then their setter is tremendous. We knew if we shut down the outside hitters, it would be the biggest thing, and clearly, with our 25 blocks and the performance of Jenn Brown who was unbelievable, we did that."

Not only were Brown's 19 blocks a BIG EAST record, but a Marquette and Fifth Third Arena record as well. The 46 assisted blocks by the Golden Eagles were also a team record.

"This just means that we have to work harder for tomorrow," said Brown. "We played well as a team today and proved that as a team, we can exceed any ones expectations."

"Blocking made the difference in this game as it will with whoever we face tomorrow," said Rolf. "Kim Todd probably had her best game all season, even though her hitting percentage was down, it was the amount of kills she had. I was really pleased with the overall play of the team. Our passing and defense made a big difference. We are really going to have to pick up our serving game and spread out our offense now for tomorrow."

Following a kill by Brown to start game one, Marquette scored eight of the next 11 points to take a 9-3 early on, prompting a timeout by Pittsburgh. Out of the break the Golden Eagles maintained momentum, increasing their lead to eight at 14-6 on a kill by junior Kimberley Todd before going up nine, for the second time, at 19-10, on blocks by freshman Leslie Bielski and senior Nicole Wallace. The Panthers called their second timeout at that point and slowly made their way back into the game, scoring 11 of the next 16 points to get within three at 24-21. A 3-0 run by MU increased its lead back to six at 27-21 before a kill by senior Jamie Mueller secured game one for Marquette, 30-26.

Mueller (six) and Todd (five) combined for 11 of the team's 16 kills in game one.

With game two tight in the beginning and the score tied 10-10, the Golden Eagles tallied three-straight points, one on a kill by Todd and two on back-to-back assisted blocks by junior Monica Renfrow and Brown, to take a 13-10 lead. Consecutive kills by Todd and Wallace gave Marquette a 21-15 lead, forcing a timeout by Pittsburgh. Out of the break the Panthers tallied four consecutive points to cut the Golden Eagles lead to two at 21-19. Coach Rolf called a timeout at that point and after the huddle, MU scored four of the next five points to increase its lead to 25-20 on a kill by Brown. Pitt was unable to get within four the rest of the way as Todd tallied the games final point at 30-25.

Brown, after tallying one solo and four assisted blocks in game one, added six more assisted blocks in game two as the Golden Eagles tallied a 28.6 hitting percentage.

Marquette tallied the first point of game three, but quickly fell behind as Pittsburgh recorded seven of the next eight scores to take a 7-2 lead. The Golden Eagles took a timeout at that point and cut their deficit to three at 10-7, but were soon down seven at 18-11. Four consecutive points by MU brought it within three once again at 18-15, and following a timeout by Pitt, a fifth point on a kill by Mueller cut the deficit to two at 18-16. A hitting error by Pittsburgh got Marquette within one at 21-20. Two points later, the Golden Eagles found themselves down 23-20 and used a second timeout. The Panthers increased their lead to six at 27-21, but a 5-0 run by MU again cut its deficit to one at 27-26. Bielski tied the game at 28-28 with a kill and then survived a game-point attempt by Pitt on a kill by Brown to tie the game again at 29-29. Pittsburgh scored the final two points, however, to win the game, 31-29.

Marquette and Pittsburgh remained within points of each other through the first half of game four before a 3-0 run and kill by Mueller gave MU a 16-13 lead, prompting a timeout by Pitt. The Golden Eagles increased their lead to four at 19-15 on an assisted block by Brown and Bielski, giving the junior the single-game BIG EAST blocks record. MU went up six at 27-21, prompting a timeout by Pitt. Only fitting, Brown tallied the game and match's final point with a kill, 30-24.

Todd finished with 19 kills and a career-high 18 digs, while Mueller tallied 21 kills and 20 digs. Renfrow registered 52 assists and 11 digs.

Marquette held Pittsburgh to an 8.1 hitting percentage, its fourth-best defensive effort of the season.