Comeback Falls Short as No. 10 MU Falls to No. 13 Creighton, 3-2

MILWAUKEE—A top-15 showdown lived up to expectations as the 10^th-ranked Marquette volleyball team forced five sets to No. 13 Creighton, but could not pull away with the comeback victory and fell to the Bluejays 3-2 (21-25, 23-25, 29-27, 31-29, 8-15) on Saturday night at the Al McGuire Center.

Marquette (15-3, 5-1) saw its nine-match winning streak snapped and dropped its first BIG EAST match of the season. All three of the Golden Eagles' losses have come to ranked opponents.

Senior Allie Barber led the Golden Eagles with 23 kills, while hitting .352, while classmate Madeline Mosher and junior Hope Werch each added 11 kills- a career best for Mosher. Freshman Hannah Vanden Berg was also in double figures with 10 kills. Werch, senior Lauren Speckman and junior Sarah Rose each recorded a double-double, the fourth this season for Werch, fifth for Speckman and third for Rose.

Speckman dished out 30 assists with 14 digs, while Rose handed out 19 assists and took 10 digs. Junior libero Martha Konovodoff collected 24 digs.

"I thought it was a great effort," head coach Ryan Theis said. "I was really proud of the way the team fought back down 0-2. There are many factors in every match, but I thought Creighton's libero and (Keeley) Davis were really, really impressive, but I love the way our team battled back."

After trailing 0-2, Marquette saw Creighton (13-3, 6-0) take match point, but staved off the Bluejays to win the third in extra points, 29-27. The fourth set was another battle and MU once again trailed Creighton with set point, but the teams traded points and pressed, while Marquette forced the fifth set with a 31-29 victory in the fourth.

In the final frame, MU started strong, but Creighton reached eight points first and hit a stellar .545 clip combined and the Golden Eagles could not outlast the Bluejays.

Davis totaled 31 kills for Creighton and hit .390, while Brittany Witt collected 35 digs in the match.

Marquette will take to the road for four straight matches beginning on Friday, Oct. 18 at Villanova. First serve is set for 6 p.m. CT.