Volleyball advances to BIG EAST final with sweep of St. John's

Box Score (PDF)

OMAHA, Nebraska – The Marquette University women's volleyball team advanced to the BIG EAST Championship, presented by JEEP, with a 3-0 sweep of St. John's on Friday at D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Golden Eagles (10-3), who had not played since a March 6 match at Butler, will make their sixth appearance in the finals of the BIG EAST tournament on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. CT against Creighton on FS1.

Sophomore Hannah Vanden Berg posted 12 kills and hit .478 to lead Marquette and Hope Werch added 10 kills while hitting .364. Werch also chipped in across the board with three service aces, seven digs and three blocks. The Golden Eagles hit .280 as a team, including a match-high .355 in the second frame (14-3-31).

The Red Storm (10-4), which had won each of its last five matches since a March 10 loss to Villanova, was led by 13 kills from BIG EAST Player of the Year Efrosini Alexakou.

Ariadni Kathariou notched six blocks on the afternoon and Rachele Rastelli was held to a .156 hitting percentage on a team-high 32 swings. St. John's entered the match leading the conference in hitting percentage (.256), assists (13.29) and kills (13.92) and ranked third in blocks (2.20).

Marquette pulled out a pair of 25-17 wins in each of the first two sets before needing extra points in the third to claim the sweep. MU fought off three set points in the final frame after trailing 24-22. The Golden Eagles surged ahead 25-24 on a Kaitlyn Lines kill and ended it, 27-25, on a Kathariou hitting error.

The Golden Eagles are 19-6 all-time against St. John's and three of the last five meetings have come in BIG EAST tournament play. The Red Storm upset the Golden Eagles, 3-1, in the 2019 title match on MU's home court, and Marquette was able to claim a 3-1 win over SJU in the 2018 semis in Omaha.

The 2018 tournament was the last hosted by Creighton and the Golden Eagles fell in four sets to the Bluejays on their home court. This year marks the fourth time CU has hosted the league tournament, following events at D.J. Sokol Arena in 2013 and 2015 in addition to 2018. Marquette claimed its lone league tournament title in 2013 with 3-1 wins over Butler in the semifinals and the Jays in the title match. MU also lost in five to CU at Sokol Arena in the 2015 semis.

Creighton swept UConn in the early semifinal contest prior to Marquette's match. Since its loss to MU on Feb. 6, the Jays are 7-1 win the lone loss coming 3-1 at Kansas State on March 20 in a non-conference matchup. MU is 5-20 all-time against Creighton, though the Golden Eagles went 1-1 in their previous trip to D.J. Sokol Arena on Feb. 5-6 with a five-set loss and a 3-0 sweep over then-19th-ranked Jays.

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).