No. 16 Marquette Set for 2018 BIG EAST Championship

MILWAUKEE--The 16^th-ranked and No. 2 seed Marquette University women's volleyball team is set for the 2019 BIG EAST Volleyball Championship presented by Jeep hosted by top-seeded Creighton University. The Golden Eagles open against No. 3 St. John's in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. CT with the final slated for Saturday, Nov. 24 at 4 p.m. CT at D.J. Sokol Arena.

The BIG EAST Digital network will carry both semifinals, while FS2 will air the final. Bob Brainerd will have play-by-play duties, Jill Dorsey-Hall will be the analyst with Meghan Caffrey as the sideline reporter for each game this weekend.

Marquette (25-5, 15-2) finished the season with its 14^th conference sweep of the year, topping St. John's on senior day in Milwaukee. It is the second consecutive season that the Golden Eagles have finished with 15 conference victories, but with just two losses, that is the fewest losses for the program since the 2013 season. Due to weather and flight cancellations Marquette's second match against Seton Hall was cancelled and not made up, leading to just 17 league matches for the Golden Eagles.

With a win, Marquette will advance to the BIG EAST Championship final for the second consecutive season where the Golden Eagles will face the winner of No. 1 Creighton vs. No. 4 Villanova on Saturday.

WHERE TO WATCH/FOLLOW THE ACTION:
LIVE STATS:
Semifinals: http://statb.us/e/220600
Finals: http://statb.us/e/220602

WATCH:
Semifinals: BIG EAST Digital Network via https://www.foxsportsgo.com/
Finals: FS2 or https://www.foxsportsgo.com/

STORYLINES:

Marquette is on a six-game win streak since falling to No. 9 Creighton on Oct. 26. The Golden Eagles dropped just seven total sets in conference play this season and just one set in a victory, turning in 14 sweeps in BIG EAST play and 21 total.
Marquette established a new program-best ranking, yet again this week, moving up to No. 16 in the AVCA Coaches Poll. The Golden Eagles entered the poll at No. 25 in week two of the season 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 has moved up to an RPI of 15 heading into the BIG EAST Championship. Marquette is looking for a chance to be a seeded team in the 2018 NCAA Tournament and host first and second round action at the Al McGuire Center.
BIG EAST ACCOLADES: For the first time since 2016, Marquette has placed four on All-BIG EAST squads. Junior Allie Barber and redshirt senior Jenna Rosenthal earned unanimous All-BIG EAST first team awards for the third straight season, while senior Anna Haak is a selection to the All-BIG EAST first team for the first time. Sophomore libero Martha Konovodoff was named second team All-BIG EAST, marking her first postseason accolade.
A WINNING WAY: Marquette has already amassed 25 victories this season, which marks the most for head coach Ryan Theis at MU and the most victories for the squad since the 2013 squad totaled 26 wins. The program record for victories is 34 set in 1979 and 1984.
This will be the third time in the BIG EAST Championship that the Golden Eagles' first round opponent will be the same team they concluded the regular season against. In 2013 Marquette finished the season with a 3-1 win over Butler and faced the Bulldogs in the first round of the BIG EAST Championship, winning 3-1 and in 2016 MU lost to Xavier ending regular season play and followed with a first round tournament loss to the Musketeers.
Senior Anna Haak reached the 1,000 career kills milestone on Oct. 26 against Creighton, combining her stats from Miami and Marquette. She became the third Golden Eagles to record 1,000 kills joining redshirt senior Jenna Rosenthal and Allie Barber.
Rosenthal became Marquette's all-time leader in assisted blocks in the match against Georgetown on Sept. 28. She owns 461 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 516 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 1,215 kills. The all-time leader for the Golden Eagles is Theresa Coughlin with 1,733 total kills from 2002-06.
Head coach Ryan 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 home opener 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 rank in the top-10 nationally in four categories: Fourth in aces per set (1.80), fifth in kills per set (14.86), fifth in assists per set (13.86) and eighth in hitting percentage at a .285 clip. In all four categories Marquette is the BIG EAST leader.
Rosenthal and Barber boast stellar hitting percentages at .382 and .357, respectively through the 30 games of the season, helping propel the Golden Eagles to its .285 average combined. The duo ranks first and second in the BIG EAST and are 24th and 56th, respectively in the NCAA.
Barber's strong junior season continues as she leads the BIG EAST in kills per set with 4.59, ranking 13^th among NCAA squads with 450 total kills. She is just one of two players in the country hitting above a .350 hitting percentage that also has 400-or more kills on the season. Torrey Van Winden from Cal Poly is hitting .365 and has 466 total kills.
Marquette has had a player record a double-double on 17 occasions this season. Anna Haak leads the squad with seven double-doubles, while Lauren Speckman has recorded five. Sophomores Sarah Rose and Hope Werch have tallied three and two double-doubles this season, respectively.