Golden Eagles sweep Xavier in Cincinnati

Box Score (PDF)

CINCINNATI – Aubrey Hamilton hit .419 with a match-high 14 kills as the Marquette University women's volleyball team swept Xavier, 25-23, 25-22, 25-16, on Saturday evening at Cintas Center.

"I'm really proud of this group," Marquette head coach Ryan Theis said. "We got the news Yadhi (Anchante) wasn't making the trip at the same time we were leaving on Thursday. We had one practice to play with a new lineup and the group responded with a great road weekend."

The Golden Eagles (13-8, 9-1 BIG EAST) hit a combined .257, including a match-best .306 in the final frame, to improve to 9-1 in BIG EAST Conference play and alone atop the league standings.

Outside hitter Jenna Reitsma hit .360 and also reached double figures with 10 kills, while Ella Foti notched 29 assists, 11 digs and a pair of blocks in her second match as MU's setter.

"Molly Berezowitz was a weapon for us at the service line and Jenna Reitsma took control at the end of set two," Theis said. "She played with great confidence and it was fun to watch."

Berezowitz, a freshman defensive specialist, had a career-high four service aces in the win and three of her aces came over a key four-point stretch midway through the opening frame. She landed consecutive aces to put MU up 15-11 and notched a third as MU went ahead 17-11.

Xavier (13-8, 6-4 BIG EAST), which hit .208 in the defeat, was paced by nine kills and five blocks from Brooklyn Cink.

Marquette used clutch play late in both the first and second sets to pull ahead and led by as many as nine points in a commanding third set victory to earn the sweep.

Hattie Bray provided a kill out of a timeout in the opening frame with the set tied at 23 and a bad set from Cink sunk the Musketeers, 25-23. MU then trailed 21-20 in the second, but scored five of the final six points for the 25-22 win.

NOTABLE:

MU leads the BIG EAST by one match at 9-1 after Saturday's loss by St. John's at Villanova. SJU and Creighton are tied for second at 8-2 through 10 matches.
Marquette is 20-9 all-time against Xavier and has won each of the last 10 meetings since a loss to the Musketeers in the 2016 BIG EAST semifinals in Indianapolis.
MU is 15-4 against Xavier since the Musketeers entered the BIG EAST for the 2013 campaign.
Foti's sister, Samantha, played four years for the Musketeers (2014-17) and posted 875 digs in her career.
Xavier fell to DePaul in four sets on Friday evening at Cintas Center.
Xavier is the only team other than Marquette to have defeated Creighton in league play this season. They topped the Bluejays in five sets at Cintas Center on Sept. 23.

UP NEXT: The Golden Eagles return to Milwaukee for matches next weekend against Providence and UConn at the Al McGuire Center. Following those contests, MU hits the road for its last four-match road swing of the season.

Keep up with the Marquette University women's volleyball program through social media by following on X (@MarquetteVB) and Instagram (@MarquetteVB) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteVolleyball).