Volleyball plays final road matches at Xavier and Butler

Match Notes (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University women's volleyball team faces Xavier and Butler for the first time this year on Saturday and Sunday in its final two road matches of the regular season.

Saturday's matchup at Xavier is slated for 3 p.m. Central time at Cintas Center in Cincinnati and the match will air live on FloSports. Sunday's 1 p.m. CT matinee at Butler will air on Butler's YouTube channel from Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Following this weekend's contests, MU closes out the regular season on Nov. 19-20 against Georgetown and Villanova at the Al McGuire Center. In addition to Alumnae Weekend, the Golden Eagles will honor seven student-athletes on Senior Night prior to the match against Villanova.

Marquette head coach Ryan Theis, who reached 300 career wins last season, currently sits at 99 career BIG EAST victories.

MARQUETTE (21-4, 12-2 BIG EAST): The Golden Eagles have won their last three matches, sweeping Providence on Oct. 30 before earning road wins against Seton Hall on Nov. 5 and St. John's on Nov. 6. Hope Werch recorded three service aces in the win over the Friars to set the all-time MU record, and led Marquette to wins at SHU and SJU on her way to BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll recognition.

As of Nov. 8, Carsen Murray (.349) and Savannah Rennie (.335) rank second and third, respectively, in hitting percentage in the BIG EAST. Murray has hit over .300 in three of her last four matches and Rennie has hit .500 in two of her last three. Taylor Wolf leads the squad in kills with 260 on the season and posted a team-high 14 in the win over the Pirates alongside Werch.

The Golden Eagles have not lost on the road since Oct. 10 and have taken 40 of 52 sets away from home this season.

XAVIER (11-14, 6-8 BIG EAST): The Musketeers are coming off a win over Providence in four sets, which snapped a six-game losing streak. Delaney Hogan posted 14 kills and seven blocks, Ellie Chaffee and Kelly Franxman each contributed 11 kills and Xavier hit .275 as a team. Hogan leads the squad in kills (214), hitting percentage (.296) and blocks (78) this season.

SERIES WITH XAVIER: In 25 all-time matches between the Golden Eagles and Musketeers, MU is 16-9 and swept Xavier in the most recent meeting on Nov. 1, 2019.

BUTLER (14-13, 8-6 BIG EAST): The Bulldogs dropped three of four sets to Creighton on Sunday, but have won five of their last seven matches and will face DePaul on Friday at 11 a.m. Central time. Butler is hitting .193 as a unit while its opponents are hitting .192. Melody Davidson has been one of the premier attackers in the BIG EAST, averaging a team-high 3.36 kills per set, which ranks sixth in the conference. She also ranks third in the BIG EAST in blocks per set with 1.19.

SERIES WITH BUTLER: Marquette is 16-9 all-time against Butler and earned a sweep in its last match against the Bulldogs on March 6.

UP NEXT: MU returns to the Al McGuire Center for a two-game homestand that features matches against Georgetown and Villanova to close the regular season.

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).