Volleyball Hosts Xavier and Butler
10/19/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
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MILWAUKEE--The Marquette University women's volleyball team looks to add two more wins in the book this weekend hosting Xavier Friday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. and Butler on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. CT.
Friday's match will air live on the Big East Digital Network with John Fanta calling the action from the Al McGuire Center, while Saturday will be streamed for free on gomarquette.com or on College Sports Live, viewed through the College Sports Live app, available for iOS through the App Store or for Android devices on Google Play.
Friday is Archdiocese of Milwaukee night with complimentary admission to archdiocese students and parish members. Saturday is Kid's Club Day and the first 200 kids 12-and under receive an MU candy bucket for trick-or-treating with an early bird trick-or-treat opportunity at the Al.
In their most recent outing, the Golden Eagles (14-6, 8-1) bested Georgetown in a 3-0 sweep (25-17, 25-12, 25-16) in Washington, D.C. Allie Barber led the team with 15 kills and a .406 clip, while Jenna Rosenthal had 10 kills, no errors, and an impressive .714 hitting percentage. Sophomore Lauren Speckman had 40 assists as well and freshman Martha Konovodoff collected 13 digs.
Barber continues an impressive season and was named as a member of the BIG EAST Weekly Honor roll for her play in two matches last week. Barber is currently 5th in the NCAA in kills per set with a 4.89 average, 20th in the NCAA in total points with 368, and 12th in the NCAA in points per set with a 5.18 average.
Sophomore Lauren Speckman has yet to stop dishing out assists. She is currently 2nd in the NCAA for assists per set with a 12.28 average and Marquette as a team is 7th in the NCAA for assists per set with a 13.77 average.
Xavier (7-16, 2-7) lost their last match at No. 16 Creighton in a three-set sweep (14-25, 19-25, 15-25). Junior Meredith Klare had a team-high digs, 11. Meredith Klare leads the Big East in digs with 375. Junior Morgan Finn also contributed with 7 kills, as well Laura Growessan with 6 kills. Lauren Frilling and Alexis Newsome are also 4th and 5th in the Big East for blocks as Frilling has 85 and Newcome has 78.
Butler currently owns a 15-6 and 5-4 league record and will face DePaul on Friday before heading into Milwaukee. Whitney Beck and Anna Logan lead the squad with 3.44 and 3.41 kills, respectively, while Taylor Takeda is collecting 4.29 kills per set.
Marquette owns an 11-9 overall advantage in the series against Xavier, including a 3-1 win in Cincinnati this season, while the Golden Eagles are 11-6 all-time against the Bulldogs with a 3-0 sweep in Indianapolis, which opened the BIG EAST slate.
Following the weekend, Marquette will open a four-game road stretch beginning at St. John's on Friday, October 27th at 4:00 p.m. CT and Seton Hall on Saturday, October 28th at 6:00 p.m. CT.
