Volleyball rallies past Villanova, 3-1, in BIG EAST opener

Box Score (PDF)

VILLANOVA, Pennsylvania - The Marquette University women's volleyball team opened BIG EAST Conference play with a 3-1 win at Villanova on Friday evening at Jake Nevin Field House.

The Golden Eagles (10-2, 1-0 BIG EAST) were led by 13 kills and four service aces from outside hitter Hope Werch, while right-side hitter Ellie Koontz landed five of her six swings for a kill without an error. Marquette is now 12-5 overall in BIG EAST openers with a mark of 4-4 when those matches are held on the road.

"I thought we got better as the match with on," eighth-year head coach Ryan Theis said. "It is always a tough environment at Villanova and I was proud of our effort in the third set. We scored 20 points and only gave eight. 'Nova made us earn it and we did."

Riley Homer had a match-high 17 kills for the Wildcats (8-5, 0-1 BIG EAST), while four-time NCAA All-American high jumper Sanaa Barnes had 12. Madeline Barber, younger sister of former Marquette All-American Allie Barber, had three kills for VU and a pair of blocks.

After losing the first set 25-20, Marquette reeled off the next three sets in order, 25-14, 25-23, 25-14 for a four-set win.

Despite jumping out to a 7-3 lead in the opening set, the Golden Eagles fell to Villanova 25-20. The Wildcats rallied with six-straight points and never looked back while hitting .303 (13-3-33). Marquette had eight hitting errors in the frame and hit .081.

The Golden Eagles used a 7-0 run to take a 15-6 lead midway through the second set and evened the match at the break with a 25-14 win. VU hit just .065 (6-4-31) in the stanza.

Marquette took three of the last four points to claim a tight third set, 25-23. The Wildcats clawed back to tie the set at 22 after Marquette called timeout with a 21-19 lead.

The Golden Eagles ran away with the fourth frame, 25-14, after hitting .304 (8-1-23) with four aces.

Marquette now leads the all-time series with the Wildcats, 15-4. The two squads last met on Nov. 29, 2019, and MU came away with a 3-0 sweep in the BIG EAST tournament semifinals.

NEXT UP: The Golden Eagles face Georgetown in Washington, D.C. at 3 p.m. Central time on Saturday at McDonough Arena.

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).