Volleyball secures BIG EAST bye with sweep of St. John's

Box Score (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University women's volleyball team swept St. John's, 25-22, 25-17, 25-22, on Friday evening at the Al McGuire Center to secure at least a top-two finish in the BIG EAST Conference regular season standings.

The Golden Eagles (19-9, 15-2 BIG EAST) hit .213 and posted 11 team blocks in the sweep to claim a bye into the the semifinals of the BIG EAST Women's Volleyball Championship, which will be held Nov. 22, 24-25 at the Al McGuire Center.

Outside hitter Jenna Reitsma landed a match-best 12 kills, while fellow outside hitter Audrey Hamilton also reached double figures with 10 herself. Redshirt sophomore middle hitter Hattie Bray had a match-high seven blocks.

Erin Jones, who had a triple-double in the last meeting between the two teams in New York, posted 12 kills to lead the Red Storm (20-9, 12-5 BIG EAST). SJU hit .094 in the loss and had 24 hitting errors.

After a tight opening set win, the Golden Eagles pulled away from a 17-16 deficit in the second stanza with the final nine points for the victory. MU also used a late run in the third to complete the sweep after head coach Ryan Theis called timeout with MU trailing, 21-19. The Golden Eagles rallied for the next five points and closed out the match in three sets.

NOTABLE:

The Golden Eagles can secure a share of their third-consecutive BIG EAST regular season title win a win over Seton Hall on Saturday at the Al McGuire Center.
MU and Creighton are currently tied atop the league standings with a 15-2 conference record after CU's sweep of Xavier on Friday.
Regardless of earning the No. 1 or 2 seed in the tournament, Marquette will play in the first semifinal matchup at the Al on Friday, Nov. 24 at 12:30 p.m. Central time.
SJU is locked in at third place with a 12-5 conference record, while Xavier is fourth at 11-7. Seeds 3-6 will play in first round matches on Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 3 and 5:30 p.m. CT.
Marquette is 24-8 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 24 of the last 29 contests.
The Red Storm captured a five-set victory in the previous meeting 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. Hamilton led MU at St. John's with 22 kills on Oct. 14.
During the intermission between sets two and three, the Golden Eagles honored 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.
- Record: 26-6, 15-1 BIG EAST
- 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)

UP NEXT: The Golden Eagles will honor a pair of seniors prior to Saturday's match against Seton Hall in middle blocker Anastasija Svetnik (Minsk, Belarus) and graduate libero Sarah Kushner (Naperville, Illinois). The match is slated for 6 p.m. Central time and airs live on FloSports with Bob Brainerd on the call.

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). Tickets for the 2023 BIG EAST Conference Women's Volleyball Championship presented by JEEP are on sale online through the Marquette Ticket Office.