Marquette University Athletics
Photo by: Maggie Bean
No. 19 Marquette Readies for Midweek Match Against Butler
10/9/2018 3:36:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
First serve is slated for 6 p.m. CT at the Al McGuire Center
MILWAUKEE – The No. 19 Marquette women's volleyball team is looking to extend its four-game win streak, comprised solely of sweeps, when it hosts Butler on Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 6 p.m. CT.
The Golden Eagles (14-4, 5-1 BIG EAST) are coming off a road win at nearby BIG EAST foe DePaul (3-0). Marquette was led by redshirt senior Jenna Rosenthal with 11 kills, followed up by Allie Barber's 10 kills.
Rosenthal earned a spot on the BIG EAST weekly honor roll after leading the league with a .583 hitting percentage through two matches last week. She currently ranks third in the conference with a season average of .363.
Following Wednesday's action, Marquette will make an East Coast swing to take on St. John's on Friday, Oct. 12 at 4 p.m. CT and Seton Hall on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. CT.
WHERE TO WATCH/FOLLOW THE ACTION
LIVE STATS: https://gomarquette.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
WATCH: https://gomarquette.com/watch/?Live=10&type=Live
Maddie Freiwald recorded a double-double with a match-high 45 assists alongside 18 digs.
Saturday marks Butler's first win since Sept. 29, which was also a victory that broke up back-to-back losses. The Golden Eagles are 12-7 all-time against the Bulldogs, splitting the season series in 2017, but the Golden Eagles earned a win in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals.
WHAT THE TEAM IS SAYING:
On the tight two-week schedule…
"We have four matches in seven days, so we are keeping an eye on the pace in which we are practicing. This two-week span last year was detrimental to us in terms of missed class time and fatigue. Every year we hit a stretch of four matches in seven days and look to see if we can get through it unscathed. Last year we did, but we felt the effects of it later in the season, so the focus this year is can we get through these matches with wins and continue to play well once it is over."
-Ryan Theis
Head Coach
STORYLINES:
The Golden Eagles (14-4, 5-1 BIG EAST) are coming off a road win at nearby BIG EAST foe DePaul (3-0). Marquette was led by redshirt senior Jenna Rosenthal with 11 kills, followed up by Allie Barber's 10 kills.
Rosenthal earned a spot on the BIG EAST weekly honor roll after leading the league with a .583 hitting percentage through two matches last week. She currently ranks third in the conference with a season average of .363.
Following Wednesday's action, Marquette will make an East Coast swing to take on St. John's on Friday, Oct. 12 at 4 p.m. CT and Seton Hall on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. CT.
WHERE TO WATCH/FOLLOW THE ACTION
LIVE STATS: https://gomarquette.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
WATCH: https://gomarquette.com/watch/?Live=10&type=Live
OPPONENT
Butler (6-13, 3-4 BIG EAST): The Bulldogs nabbed a win over Villanova (3-1) on Saturday after dropping two straight to DePaul (3-2) and Georgetown (3-0). Butler had four players reach double-figure kill totals against the Wildcats, including Brooke Gregory (15), Natalie Ravenell (13), Rachel Klitzing (12) and Bri Lilly (10).Maddie Freiwald recorded a double-double with a match-high 45 assists alongside 18 digs.
Saturday marks Butler's first win since Sept. 29, which was also a victory that broke up back-to-back losses. The Golden Eagles are 12-7 all-time against the Bulldogs, splitting the season series in 2017, but the Golden Eagles earned a win in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals.
WHAT THE TEAM IS SAYING:
On the tight two-week schedule…
"We have four matches in seven days, so we are keeping an eye on the pace in which we are practicing. This two-week span last year was detrimental to us in terms of missed class time and fatigue. Every year we hit a stretch of four matches in seven days and look to see if we can get through it unscathed. Last year we did, but we felt the effects of it later in the season, so the focus this year is can we get through these matches with wins and continue to play well once it is over."
-Ryan Theis
Head Coach
STORYLINES:
- Marquette is on a four-game win streak since falling at No. 10 Creighton on Sept. 23. Each win has occurred in straight sets and the most recent victory was at DePaul on Saturday, Oct. 6.
- Marquette remained at No. 19 in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll, which is the best ranking in program history. The Golden Eagles entered the AVCA Coaches Poll at No. 25 in week two after being the unofficial 26th team to open the 2018 campaign. MU is ranked for the first time since 2013.
- RPI watch…The Golden Eagles own an RPI of 21 in the latest rankings after entering at No. 13. MU's four losses on the season come against No. 2 BYU, No. 9 Wisconsin, No. 19 Baylor and No. 21 Creighton. Creighton is right behind MU at No. 22
- Redshirt senior Jenna Rosenthal became Marquette's all-time leader in assisted blocks in the match against Georgetown on Sept. 28. She owns 418 career assisted blocks and topped the record of 412 that Meghan Nieman set from 2013-2016. Rosenthal is also Marquette's all-time leader in total blocks with 470 currently having recently broken another of Niemann's records.
- Allie Barber reached a milestone of 1,000 career kills against Villanova on Saturday, Sept. 29. The junior now owns 1,029 kills. The all-time leader for the Golden Eagles is Theresa Coughlin with 1,733 total kills from 2002-06.
- Rosenthal earned her second BIG EAST weekly honor of the season as she was named to the honor roll, the league office announced on Tuesday. The redshirt senior averaged 3.83 kills per set and a league-best .583 hitting percentage.
- Theis picked up his 100th Marquette victory in a 3-0 sweep over Illinois State on September 15. He is in his fifth season at the helm of the Golden Eagles.
- Marquette defeated then-No. 10 USC in its homeopener in a five-set thriller. It was just the third victory over a top-10 opponent in the program's history, but the fourth straight season that MU defeated a ranked opponent.
- The Golden Eagles also lead the league in kills and rank 9th nationally with 14.48 per contest, paced by 4.54 per frame from Barber, which leads the BIG EAST and ranks 14th in the NCAA.
- Junior Allie Barber and redshirt senior Jenna Rosenthal boast stellar hitting percentages at .352 and .358, respectively through the 23 games of the season, helping propel the Golden Eagles to a .261 average combined, which is tops in the league.
- Marquette has had a player record a double-double on eight occasions this season. Speckman and sophomore Sarah Rose have three, while senior Anna Haak has tallied two. Hope Werch has recorded one double-double.
- This is the 43rd season of Marquette volleyball and the program is 754-694-5 all-time.
- The Golden Eagles were picked to win the BIG EAST, earning six first-place votes. This is the first time MU has been selected to win the league.
- Allie Barber was tabbed as BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year, while Jenna Rosenthal and Hope Werch were selected to the preseason squad.
Players Mentioned
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