Werch and Rennie lead volleyball past DePaul in five

Box Score (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University women's volleyball team used a reverse sweep and fought off three match-points to top DePaul in five sets (21-25, 23-25, 25-21, 25-19, 16-14) on Wednesday afternoon at the Al McGuire Center.

The Golden Eagles (17-3, 8-1 BIG EAST) have now won eight of their nine BIG EAST matchups and sit alone atop the league. Outside hitter Hope Werch recorded a new career high with 20 kills, while middle blocker Savannah Rennie added 19 kills and led the team in hitting percentage at .366 (19-4-41).

MU trailed early as the Blue Demons took the first two sets of the afternoon. Marquette would battle back to take the third (25-21) and fourth (25-19) to force a deciding fifth set. Despite DePaul sitting at match-point 14-11 in the fifth frame, Marquette battled back with the final five points to claim the set, 16-14. Rennie closed the match with her final three kills of the afternoon and MU hit a match-high .286 in the set.

DePaul (12-9, 5-4 BIG EAST) was led by Jill Pressly who recorded 15 kills for the Blue Demons. Donna Brown also chipped in nine kills and 10 blocks, while Emma Price had 12 kills.

The Golden Eagles are 39-27 all-time against DePaul and are in the midst of a 22-match winning streak. DePaul's last win in the series came in five sets on Nov. 1, 2008.

UP NEXT: Marquette heads to UConn for a 3 p.m. Central time matchup with the Huskies at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. The match is MU's first at UConn since 2011 and the Golden Eagles claimed a 3-1 victory in this year's previous meeting, 3-1, on Oct. 1 in Milwaukee.

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).