Volleyball downs Saint Louis in four sets

Box Score (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The No. 24 Marquette University women's volleyball team picked up a hard-fought 3-1 victory (27-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-18) over Saint Louis on Thursday afternoon at the Al McGuire Center.

The Golden Eagles (7-2) pulled out the match in four after a 25-22 loss in the second frame and needed extra points to win the first, 27-25. Hannah Vanden Berg and Kaitlyn Lines each posted 12 kills in the win, while Claire Nuessmeier added 11 and Savannah Rennie had 10. Rennie also posted a match-high six blocks as MU limited SLU to a .118 hitting percentage.

Marquette broke free from an early deficit to pull ahead midway through the opening set, forcing the Billikens into a timeout with MU up 18-16. SLU fought off set-point three times before MU closed the frame on a Taylor Wolf kill and SLU attack error.

The Golden Eagles tied the second set 20-20, but struggled to get any kind of footing despite holding SLU to a .116 hitting percentage.

Lines lifted MU to a 25-20 third set triumph with seven kills as the Golden Eagles used a 10-0 run to pull away. SLU followed that MU run by taking nine of 10 points themselves, to cut Marquette's lead to 23-19.

The Golden Eagles cruised to a 25-18 win in the fourth by hitting a match-high .351 as a team (15-2-37), led by four kills on six error-free swings from both Nuessmeier and Vanden Berg.

SLU (5-5) was led by 18 kills and 17 digs from outside hitter Maya Taylor, while Juliana Phillips had 14 kills.

Marquette resumes action in Milwaukee on Saturday at 2 p.m. Central time in its final home match of the season against Iowa State. The Cyclones will face SLU on Friday at 3 p.m. prior to their match against MU.

Marquette setter Sarah Rose will be honored prior to the match against ISU on Saturday for her fight against cancer. The Elmhurst, Illinois native is currently in graduate school at Marquette while she undergoes treatment for Ewing's Sarcoma. The Golden Eagles will wear their gold jerseys on Saturday in support of Rose as part of Marquette's #Gold4Sarah campaign.

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).