Volleyball hosts Alumnae Weekend; Senior Night is Saturday

Match Notes (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University women's volleyball team hosts its final matches of the regular season this weekend with a BIG EAST regular season title at stake against Georgetown on Friday and Villanova on Saturday.

Friday's match against Georgetown is slated for 7 p.m. Central time at the Al McGuire Center with Patrick Reed on the call through FloSports. Matt Rodewald will call Saturday's matchup with Villanova on the BIG EAST Digital Network through FloSports at 6 p.m. Live statistics for both matches will be available on GoMarquette.com.

The Golden Eagles are set to welcome back program alumnae over the weekend and honor seven seniors on Saturday night. Hope Werch, Taylor Wolf, Savannah Rennie, Kaitlyn Lines, Claire Mosher, Ellie Koontz and Katie Schoessow will all be recognized prior to the match against the Wildcats for their contributions to the volleyball program.

Marquette can secure at least a share of the league title with a pair of wins this weekend and can claim it outright with any three of a combination of wins or Creighton losses. MU's only BIG EAST regular season and tournament crowns came in 2013, when MU won the regular season by three matches and topped Creighton in the conference tournament in Omaha.

Following this weekend's matches, Marquette will host Creighton, DePaul and UConn in the 2021 BIG EAST Women's Volleyball Championship, presented by JEEP on Nov. 26-27 at the Al McGuire Center.

MARQUETTE (23-4, 14-2 BIG EAST): The Golden Eagles have won their last five matches since a 3-1 loss to then-No. 24 Creighton on Oct. 29. Marquette is 14-2 in league action and has kept its title hopes alive with a pair of comeback five-set wins in the last month against DePaul (Oct. 20) and St. John's (Nov. 6).

Werch led Marquette to a pair of victories last weekend at Xavier and Butler on her way to her second BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll mention in as many weeks. She currently leads MU in kills per set (3.03) and service aces (0.52/set with 47 total aces), and has increased her productivity in league play with 3.21 kills per frame on .259 hitting with 37 aces in 57 sets. Up front, MU is averaging 1.91 blocks per frame and Wolf, Rennie and Carsen Murray are each hitting at least .319 on the year.

Carly Skrabak has also solidified her presence in MU's back row at libero with an average of 6.0 digs per set over the last week. She leads MU with 354 digs this season.

Head coach Ryan Theis picked up his 100th career BIG EAST victory against the Musketeers on Saturday and has 324 wins in his head coaching career and 177 at Marquette.

GEORGETOWN (7-20, 3-13 BIG EAST): The Hoyas come into Friday's contest at a 3-13 record in BIG EAST play, most recently defeating the Providence Friars in four sets on Saturday. The visitors have a 3-1 win over UConn as their conference highlight on Oct. 9. Peyton Wilhite leads the team with kills with 146 in conference matches while Giselle Williams leads the team with 2.78 kills per set in the BIG EAST. Middle blocker Makayla Serrett has totaled 61 blocks on the season in the BIG EAST, and setter Lilly Costigan contributes 8.25 assists per set in the conference matches.

SERIES WITH GEORGETOWN: Marquette is 19-4 all-time against the Hoyas, winning the most recent matchup in Sept. in the beginning of the BIG EAST season. MU is 10-0 at the Al McGuire Center against GU, with a current 16-match win streak.

VILLANOVA (15-13, 7-9 BIG EAST): Villanova enters the weekend in the Midwest with a losing conference record following a loss at the hands of the Creighton Bluejays on Saturday. The BIG EAST highlights for the Wildcats came with two wins over Butler in October.

Setter Belle Morgan is second the league with 9.95 assists per set in all matches and posted a career-high 54 assists earlier this year in five-set win over St. John's. Outside hitter Riley Homer leads her team with 3.34 kills per set on the year, good enough for sixth-best in the BIG EAST in all matches.

SERIES WITH VILLANOVA: MU leads the all-time series with the Wildcats, 20-4. The Golden Eagles maintain a seven-match winning streak over the Wildcats, with their most recent win coming earlier this year in a four-set match. Marquette has a 9-2 record in the Al McGuire Center against VU.

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).