No. 10 Marquette Tops Butler in Three-Set Sweep

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.—The Marquette University volleyball team completed its second consecutive sweep and sixth straight victory as the 10^th-ranked Golden Eagles defeated Butler 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-21) on Sunday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Allie Barber lead three Golden Eagles in double figures with 13 kills, while senior Gwyn Jones and junior Hope Werch each added 11. Jones connected for a blistering .625 clip, while Werch added a .500 hitting percentage for Marquette (21-3, 11-1).

Senior setter Lauren Speckman connected on her sixth double-double of the campaign with 24 assists and 10 digs as junior setter Sarah Rose dished out 14 assists. Classmate Martha Konovodff collected 13 digs.

Barber finishes the day at 1,710 career kills, only the third player in Marquette history to surpass the 1,700 kills mark. She needs just 24 more kills to become Marquette's all-time kills leader.

"It was a good road win today," head coach Ryan Theis said. "I thought we came out energized and prepared and it showed."

After winning the first set with ease, 25-14, Marquette had more of a challenge from Butler (10-14, 7-5) in the second and third sets. In the second set, the Bulldogs staved off five set-point attempts before the Golden Eagles could close out with a 25-22 win. Fairly consistent hitting from both squads helped in the final set, but MU was able to close out with a 25-21 win and complete the sweep.

Brooke Gregory led Butler with eight kills and four blocks, while Elizabeth LaBue collected 11 digs.

The Golden Eagles combined to hit a .352 percentage and collect 48 team digs in the victory. They held the Bulldogs to just five total team blocks, well behind their 2.24 blocks per set average.

Marquette will host DePaul on Friday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. CT before turning around to head to Chicago and take on the Blue Demons on the road at 6 p.m. CT.