Marquette Blanks DePaul in Regular Season Finale

Nov. 18, 2017

CHICAGO -- The Marquette University volleyball team wrapped up the 2017 regular season with a swift 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-19) victory at DePaul on Saturday afternoon at McGrath-Phillips Arena.

The Golden Eagles (21-8, 15-3) were led by redshirt junior Jenna Rosenthal and sophomore Allie Barber with 10 kills each. Junior Anna Haak added eight kills with a team-best 16 digs.

Sophomore Lauren Speckman and freshman Sarah Rose shared setting duties, dishing out 18 and 13 assists, respectively.

"I thought this was a total team win," head coach Ryan Theis said. "Everyone chipped in and we had some strong contributions off of the bench. We are excited for the post season and hosting the BIG EAST Tournament. We consider postseason to be third phase in our season and we are excited to move forward."

Marquette trailed by 19-12 in the first set and was able to close out the frame with a 13-4 run, including five straight points for a 25-23 victory. The Golden Eagles had a slow start in the second frame, down 5-1, but regrouped a put pressure on the Blue Demons (8-22, 2-16) to take a 25-23 win and go up 2-0 in the match.

An ace from junior Madeline Mosher wrapped up the third set, 25-19 to complete the sweep.

DePaul was led by Brittany Maxwell with a match-high 16 kills and .294 hitting percentage. The Golden Eagles did not have their most efficient hitting of the season, combining for just .188 in the match, though the Blue Demons totaled just .172.

MU's 15 wins in BIG EAST action is the best mark for the squad since the 2013 campaign when the Golden Eagles also tallied 15 victories.

Marquette has clinched the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament, hosted by the Golden Eagles. MU will face No. 3 Butler on Friday, Nov. 24 at 2:30 p.m. CT, live on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by SoFi.