Volleyball hosts St. John's and Seton Hall to open homestand

Match Notes (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University women's volleyball team begins a stretch of five of six matches at home on Friday against St. John's before a Saturday matchup with Seton Hall at the Al McGuire Center.

Friday's match against the Red Storm is slated for 7 p.m. Central time and will air on FloSports with Dan Avington on the call. Saturday's 6 p.m. contest against the Pirates will be produced by the Marquette Wire, MU's student-run media organization, and be available free of charge on the Marquette University Television YouTube channel. Tyler Peters and Kristin Parisi will call Saturday's match and Ava Mares will provide sideline coverage.

The Golden Eagles will wear gold during the weekend, including gold jerseys on Saturday against SHU as a display of support for university president Dr. Michael R. Lovell and his family. Lovell announced in early September that he had been diagnosed with sarcoma, a rare form of cancer. Gold is the primary color utilized to raise awareness for the disease and helps to promote a sense of community amongst those whose lives have been impacted by sarcoma.

"I think to a person within athletics - our student-athletes, coaches and staff - we have all felt Dr. Lovell's incredible support for us on a daily basis," Vice President & Director of Athletics Bill Scholl said. "This is simply another way to let he and his family know that they will have our support throughout this journey."

Marquette has worn gold on multiple occasions over the last year in support of former setter Sarah Rose, who was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma last fall and is currently in remission from the disease.

The first 150 Marquette students at Friday's match against St. John's will receive free Chick-fil-a.

MARQUETTE (14-3, 5-1 BIG EAST): The Golden Eagles dropped their first BIG EAST Conference match of the season on Sunday afternoon at No. 19 Creighton, 3-1. The Golden Eagles dropped the second set in extra points before claiming the third to force the fourth. Taylor Wolf was named the league's offensive player of the week for her play against the Bluejays and Providence. She hit .438 and averaged 3.57 kills per set to earn her third player of the week nod of the season.

Marquette is hitting a league-best .276 in 2021 with over 14 kills per frame and redshirt freshman Carsen Murray paces the conference with a mark of .355 (89-18-200). Wolf, Savannah Rennie and Ellie Koontz also rank in the top 10 at .311 or above. Rennie also leads the conference with 1.22 blocks per set.

Following this weekend's two matches, MU still has home contests this month against DePaul, Creighton and Providence, along with a lone road contest at UConn on Saturday, Oct. 23.

ST. JOHN'S (12-8, 3-3 BIG EAST): The Johnnies come into Friday's contest at an even record in BIG EAST play, most recently defeating the Xavier Musketeers in four sets on Saturday. The Red Storm boast a 3-1 win over then-No. 16 Creighton as their conference highlight on Oct. 1. Rachele Rastelli leads the conference in kills with 4.30 per set, while freshman Giorgia Walther sits second on the team with 186. Middle blocker Ariadni Kathariou has totaled 79 blocks on the season, and setter Tiziana Baumrukova contributes 9.71 assists per set.

SERIES WITH ST. JOHN'S: Marquette is 19-3 all-time against the Red Storm, winning the most recent matchup in April of 2021 in the BIG EAST semifinals. MU is 9-2 at the Al McGuire Center against SJU.

SETON HALL (10-10, 2-4 BIG EAST): Seton Hall enters their weekend in the Midwest with a losing conference record despite a sweep of the Butler Bulldogs on Saturday. The only other BIG EAST win for the Pirates came on Oct. 1, a five-set victory over Providence.

Outside hitter Perri Lucas leads her squad with 197 kills on the year. Amanda Rachwal paces the BIG EAST with 88 blocks while maintaining a hitting percentage over .300, and two setters (Taylor Jakubowski and Cagla Bengi) have dished out more than 300 assists this season.

SERIES WITH SETON HALL: MU leads the all-time series with the Pirates, 16-5. The Golden Eagles maintain a nine-match winning streak over SHU, but the two sides haven't met since 2019.

Keep up with the Marquette University women's volleyball program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteVB) and Instagram (@MarquetteVB) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteVolleyball).