Volleyball wins five-set marathon at St. John's

Box Score (PDF)

QUEENS, New York – The Marquette University women's volleyball team rallied to claim a marathon five-set victory over St. John's on Saturday afternoon at Carnesecca Arena.

"It was a gutsy effort this afternoon and I'm really proud of us going for it late," MU head coach Ryan Theis said. "We didn't get tentative, we took our chances, and it paid off."

The Golden Eagles (21-4, 12-2 BIG EAST) fell behind 2-1 after a 28-26 loss in the third, but hit .345 (12-2-29) in a 25-22 fourth set win and claimed the deciding frame, 18-16, while hitting .417 (12-2-24).

Outside hitter Hope Werch led Marquette with 17 kills and had five of MU's 13 service aces in the contest. Taylor Wolf added 13 kills and 33 assists, while Hannah Vanden Berg had 13 kills and hit at a .407 clip.

Wolf pushed MU out to the early advantage, serving eight-straight points for the Golden Eagles in the opening set on their way to a 25-23 victory. The graduate student also posted three aces during that serving run.

The Red Storm (14-13, 5-8 BIG EAST) responded to claim the second set, 25-19, after closing the stanza with eight of the final 11 points. SJU also pulled out the third after MU gained a 24-21 advantage.

Marquette fell being 13-10 in the final set before tying the game at 13. Consecutive kills from Werch closed the contest on MU's fourth match point.

The Red Storm were led by 19 kills and 14 digs from Rachele Rastelli. Giorgia Walther also had 18 kills on .417 hitting.

The Golden Eagles are 22-7 all-time against St. John's, with the most recent contest being a MU sweep on Oct. 15. Marquette has only lost at Carnesecca Arena once in history, that defeat coming in Nov. of 2015.

Marquette continues its four-match road swing on Nov. 13-14 at Xavier and Butler.

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).