Volleyball hosts Alumni Weekend and Senior Night

Match Notes (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University women's volleyball team hosts its final regular season matches on Friday and Saturday against St. John's and Seton Hall at the Al McGuire Center.

The two matches are part of MU volleyball's alumni weekend, celebrating the many contributions of its former players and staff members. The Golden Eagles will honor the 10th anniversary of the program's first BIG EAST Championship in 2013 at Friday's match against the Red Storm and seniors Sarah Kushner and Anastasija Svetnik will be recognized prior to Saturday's contest against the Pirates.

The matchup with St. John's is slated for 7 p.m. Central time on Friday and the Golden Eagles can secure a first-round bye into the semifinals of the BIG EAST Women's Volleyball Championship with a victory. MU (14-2) sits two games ahead of the Red Storm (12-4) in the league standings but dropped the previous meeting between the two programs this season in five sets on Oct. 14 at Carnesecca Arena.

MU hosts Seton Hall at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday for its regular season finale. Both matches air live on FloSports with Bob Brainerd on the call and live stats are available through GoMarquette.com.

The first 100 students at Friday's match will receive free pizza.

This weekend's matches determine seeding for the conference tournament, which MU hosts at the Al McGuire Center on Nov 22 and Nov. 24-25.

MARQUETTE (18-9, 14-2 BIG EAST)

The Golden Eagles are currently tied atop the BIG EAST Conference standings at 14-2 with Creighton.
MU went 2-0 last week with a sweep at Georgetown and a four-set victory on Saturday evening at Villanova. Outside hitter Jenna Reitsma hit a combined .407 in the two wins and averaged 3.86 kills per set. Reitsma notched new career highs in service aces at GU (seven) and kills at VU (18) to earn a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.
Outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton leads MU this season with 362 kills (3.73 per set) on .276 hitting. She's an All-BIG EAST Preseason Team selection and has earned five BIG EAST weekly honors this fall.
Setter Yadhira Anchante returned to the MU lineup at Creighton on Nov. 5 after missing the previous five matches due to illness. Redshirt sophomore Ella Foti switched from her right-side hitter position to setter during those five contests, all Marquette victories against Butler, Xavier, Providence, UConn and DePaul.
In BIG EAST play, MU is hitting a combined .282 and holding its opponents to a mark of .160. Both percentages rank second in the conference, while MU leads the league with 1.93 service aces per set.
Marquette has won at a 75.2 percent clip (221-73) since joining the BIG EAST in 2005 and is 134-29 (.822) in BIG EAST matches under head coach Ryan Theis.
MU is 97-14 (.874) in BIG EAST play over the last seven seasons (2017-23) under Theis, including consecutive regular season league titles in 2021 (16-2) and 2022 (17-1).
MU has 10 matches this season against teams currently ranked in the AVCA Coaches Poll (No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 7 Pitt, No. 6 Oregon, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 17 Kansas, No. 15 Creighton (twice), No. 19 Dayton, No. 16 Purdue and No. 22 Western Kentucky. MU is the first team outside the top 25 with 54 total points, just 15 behind No. 25 Florida State.

10TH ANNIVERSARY OF 2013 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP

As part of MU's Alumni Weekend celebration, the Golden Eagles will honor the 10th anniversary of the program's first BIG EAST Championship in 2013. That team won MU's first regular season BIG EAST title and captured its only BIG EAST tournament crown to date.
Team Biography:
- Record: 26-6, 15-1 BIG EAST
- MU's first and only BIG EAST tournament title in women's volleyball
- Defeated Butler and Creighton in Omaha, Nebraska to win the BIG EAST tournament.
- Swept Louisville in the NCAA First Round before falling to No. 18 Illinois (13 seed) in the NCAA Second Round in Champaign, Illinois
- Captained by Elizabeth Koberstein and Julie Jeziorowski
- AVCA All-Americans (3): Elizabeth Koberstein (third team), Autumn Bailey (honorable mention), Meghan Niemann (honorable mention)
- All-BIG EAST First Team (3): Elizabeth Koberstein (Player of the Year), Autumn Bailey (Freshman of the Year), Meghan Niemann
- All-BIG EAST Second Team (2): Lindsey Gosh, Julie Jeziorowski
- All-BIG EAST Championship (3): Elizabeth Koberstein (MOP), Meghan Niemann, Nele Barber
- BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year (Bond Shymansky, Jason Allen, Jackie Simpson, Evan Muys)

CLASS OF 2023

The Golden Eagles will honor a pair of seniors prior to Saturday's match against Seton Hall in middle blocker Anastasija Svetnik and graduate libero Sarah Kushner.
Anastasija Svetnik, MB, Minsk, Belarus
- Svetnik arrived at Marquette in the summer of 2021 as a transfer from Oregon State, where she played in 18 matches during the truncated 2020-21 season. Entering this weekend, the native of Minsk, Belarus, has played 105 sets in 50 matches for the Golden Eagles over the last three years, including a career-high 24 matches this season.
- Svetnik started the first three matches this season and played a pivotal role in a pair of late-season victories over UConn and at Georgetown last weekend. She is a two-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team selection and a four-semester member of the Athletics Director's Honor Roll who will graduate in December with a bachelor's degree in innovation and entrepreneurship.
Sarah Kushner, L, Naperville, Illinois
- Kushner is in her first season at Marquette after playing four years at Illinois State University, from which she graduated in May. She's pursuing a master's degree in management from the MU College of Business Administration.
- After transitioning from an outside hitter to a full-time libero this fall, Kushner has excelled in BIG EAST play, ranking third in the league entering this weekend with 4.48 digs per set. The native of Naperville, Illinois has earned three conference weekly accolades this fall for her play as Marquette's libero, including the league's defensive player of the week honors on Oct. 23.
Marquette also has three other starters in their fourth collegiate season, though all three (Anchante, Hamilton and Carsen Murray) plan to use their extra season of COVID eligibility next fall.

ST. JOHN'S (20-8, 12-4 BIG EAST)

The Red Storm sit alone in third place in the conference standings, two matches behind MU and Creighton, after a pair of losses last week at Seton Hall and at home against CU.
SJU loses a head-to-head tiebreaker against the Bluejays due to a pair of losses to CU this season. The Red Storm previously defeated Marquette in five sets at Carnesecca Arena on Oct. 14.
Sophomore outside hitter Erin Jones leads SJU with 3.54 kills per set on a hitting mark of .257. She also averages 2.11 assists and 2.02 digs per frame with 19 total service aces and 48 blocks in 102 sets played.
Giorgia Walther leads the Red Storm with 875 attacks this year but has connected at just a .142 clip and averages 3.08 kills per set.
Setter Wiktoria Kowalczyk has posted a team-best 40 service aces on the year and her 8.87 assists per set average ranks sixth in the conference. Her total aces are second in the league behind MU's Jenna Reitsma (43).
Head coach Joanne Persico is in her 30th season at St. John's.
St. John's is the only other team outside of Marquette and Creighton to claim a BIG EAST title since the league reformed prior to the 2013 campaign. The Red Storm defeated both MU and CU on its way to a 2019 league tournament crown at the Al McGuire Center.

SERIES HISTORY WITH ST. JOHN'S:

Marquette is 23-8 all-time against the Red Storm and all 31 meetings have come since MU joined the BIG EAST for the 2005 season. SJU won the first three meetings in the series, but MU has won 23 of the last 28 contests.
The Red Storm captured a five-set victory in the previous matchup this season on Oct. 14 in Queens. MU won the second and third sets for the match advantage before SJU stormed back for a 25-22 win in the fourth and held off MU, 15-13, in the fourth.
SJU outside hitter Erin Jones posted a triple-double in the win on Oct. 14 with 22 kills, 17 digs and 14 assists, in addition to an ace and four blocks. Giorgia Walther and Lucrezia Lodi each posted identical hitting marks of .260 (19-6-50) for SJU.
Hamilton led MU at St. John's with 22 kills on Oct. 14.
MU swept SJU in both matches last season, including a career-high nine blocks from Carsen Murray in the last meeting on Oct. 22, 2022 in Milwaukee. Marquette had 13.0 team blocks in the win.

SETON HALL (14-13, 8-8 BIG EAST)

The Pirates play on Friday evening in Chicago against DePaul before making the trek up Interstate-94 to the Cream City.
Outside hitter Madeline Matheny has taken a team-high 751 swings and leads the Pirates with 2.88 kills per set (265 total) on a hitting mark of .208. Perri Lucas (2.34), Jenna Walsh (2.54) and Bianca Bucciarelli (2.31) each also average over two kills per frame.
In conference matches, SHU is in the bottom half of most statistical categories, except for service aces per set (1.69), in which it ranks fourth. SHU is seventh in hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage, eighth in blocks and digs, and ninth in kills.
Prior to a sweep at the hands of No. 15 Creighton in their last match on Friday at home, the Pirates had won five of their previous six contests, including a sweep of St. John's last Wednesday.
Head coach Shannon Thompson is in her second season at Seton Hall

SERIES HISTORY WITH SETON HALL:

Marquette leads the all-time series with the Pirates, 23-5, and all 28 meetings have come since MU joined the BIG EAST for the 2005 season.
The Golden Eagles have won each of the last 14 meetings.
MU won the first meeting in four sets on Oct. 13 at Walsh Gymnasium. Hamilton led MU with 18 kills and the Golden Eagles hit a combined .270.
Marquette swept SHU in both meetings last season. The Pirates earned just 36 total points and hit -.032 in the last match on Oct. 21, 2022 in Milwaukee. MU hit .367 in the win.

BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS ON SALE

Tickets for the 2023 BIG EAST Conference Women's Volleyball Championship presented by JEEP are on sale now through the Marquette Ticket Office.
Prices are as follows for tickets online:
- All Session Reserved: $18 (adult)
- All Session GA: $14 (adult)
- Single Session Reserved: $10 (adult)
- Single Session GA: $8 (adult)
Discounted group ticket rates are available to purchase at the Al McGuire Center Ticket Office (770 N 12th Street, Milwaukee) or by calling 414-288-GOMU (4668). Individuals should also make inquiries to the Ticket Office for youth ticket rates.
Match Times:
- Quarterfinals: Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 3 and 5:30 p.m. CT (BEDN)
- Semifinals: Friday, Nov. 24 at 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. CT (BEDN)
- Final: Saturday, Nov. 25 at 1 p.m. CT (FS2)

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).