No. 17 Volleyball sweeps Providence

Box Score (PDF)

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island – Led by Ella Foti and Carsen Murray, the No. 17 Marquette University women's volleyball claimed a 25-15, 25-21, 25-14 sweep of Providence on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall.

"We are working on our defensive effort and down the stretch and I thought we made some strides today," Marquette head coach Ryan Theis said. "I really liked our service game on a short day in a new building. We will need that tomorrow in a big arena (at UConn)."

Foti hit .562 and added a pair of blocks and an ace along with nine kills as Marquette (23-2, 14-1 BIG EAST) picked up its 16th sweep of the year. Outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton also notched nine kills, while Carsen Murray posted seven kills and three blocks while hitting .583.

MU hit .301 as a team, including .444 (16-4-27) in the final frame, while holding PC to a combined mark of .115. The Golden Eagles also picked up eight aces from the service line, including a pair from Caroline Dragani, who provided a career-best five last weekend against Villanova.

Providence (11-16, 3-12 BIG EAST) was led by a match-high 11 kills from Emma Nelson.

NOTABLE:

Marquette is 16-0 all-time against Providence. The Golden Eagles swept the Friars earlier this season on Oct. 1 in Milwaukee with MU middle blocker Hattie Bray collecting 11 kills on .647 hitting.
The Golden Eagles trailed 17-10 in the second set before closing the frame on a 15-4 run to take a 2-0 edge into the intermission.
Murray entered the match as the BIG EAST leader in hitting percentage (.403; 16th nationally) and is now hitting .409. She is also the BIG EAST leader in blocks (1.18 per set).
MU libero Carly Skrabak, who entered the match fourth in the league in digs per set, posted 19 on Saturday, an average of 6.33 digs per frame.
The Friars entered the match tied for ninth in the BIG EAST Standings at 3-11 with Villanova.

UP NEXT: Marquette travels to UConn on Sunday to face the Huskies at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. Following this weekend's matches, the Golden Eagles have just one remaining home weekend on Nov. 18-19 against Xavier and No. 12 Creighton. The Xavier match on Friday, Nov. 18 will serve as the program's Senior Night.

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).