No. 25 Golden Eagles head to No. 17 Creighton on Sunday

Match Notes (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The No. 25 Marquette University women's volleyball team heads to D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha, Nebraska for a Sunday matinee against No. 17 Creighton.

The match is slated for 1 p.m. Central time and airs live on the BIG EAST Digital Network through FloSports with Jon Schriner (play-by-play) and Kate Elman on the call. Live statistics are available on GoMarquette.com via StatBroadcast.

Following the matchup at CU, Marquette has just two regular season road matches remaining next weekend on the East Coast at Georgetown and Villanova.

No. 25 MARQUETTE (16-8, 12-1 BIG EAST)

The Golden Eagles are back in the AVCA Top 25 Poll for the first time since the second week of the season. MU was in the receiving votes section each of the last seven weeks.
Marquette is currently alone atop the BIG EAST Conference standings at 12-1. Creighton and St. John's are both one-and-a-half games behind the Golden Eagles at 10-2. Creighton hosts DePaul on Friday before welcoming MU to Omaha on Sunday afternoon.
Marquette was picked to win the BIG EAST in the preseason coaches' poll with seven first place votes. Creighton received four.
The Golden Eagles are hitting a BIG EAST-best .289 in conference play and are limiting opponents to .137 through 12 matches (second-best in the league behind Creighton (.109)).
In conference matches, MU averages 2.47 blocks, 1.84 service aces and 16.77 digs per set. All three marks rank among the league's top three in their respective categories.
Outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton leads MU this season with 332 kills (3.82 per set) on .283 hitting. She's an All-BIG EAST Preseason Team selection and has earned five BIG EAST weekly honors this fall.
Hamilton had a match-high 17 kills in MU's 3-1 win at DePaul on Wednesday evening and had four of Marquette's 10 service aces in the win to tie a career best.
Redshirt sophomore Ella Foti has filled in for Yadhira Anchante at setter over the last five matches and had a career-best 47 assists at DePaul alongside 18 digs. Over the last five matches (at BU, at XU, PC, UConn, at DPU) with Foti in the setter role, MU is 5-0 while hitting .287 with 14.38 kills per set. Foti is averaging 10.31 assists, 3.31 digs and 1.25 kills per frame over those 16 sets while hitting .442 with three total service aces and seven blocks.
Foti was a BIG EAST All-Freshman Team selection last fall as MU's starting right-side hitter.
Graduate libero Sarah Kushner earned her third weekly honor of the season on Monday with BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll recognition for her play in sweeps of Providence and UConn last week. She averaged a league-best 5.83 digs per set in the two victories.
Junior outside hitter Jenna Reitsma paced the MU offense against the Friars and Huskies by hitting a combined .328 with 4.33 kills and 3.00 digs per set. She hit a season-best .444 (13-1-27) on Friday against PC.
Marquette has won at a 75.3 percent clip (219-72) since joining the BIG EAST in 2005 and is 134-28 (.827) in BIG EAST matches under head coach Ryan Theis.
MU is 95-13 (.879) 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 played one of the nation's 10 toughest nonconference schedules according to the Massey Ratings.
MU has 10 matches this season against teams currently ranked in the AVCA Coaches Poll (No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 6 Pitt, No. 7 Oregon, No. 11 Tennessee, No. 14 Kansas, No. 17 Creighton (twice), No. 18 Dayton, No. 19 Purdue and No. 23 Western Kentucky.

No. 17 CREIGHTON (19-4, 10-2 BIG EAST)

The Bluejays host DePaul on Friday evening at D.J. Sokol Arena before welcoming the Golden Eagles.
Creighton opened the year with wins over Loyola Chicago and at then-No. 16 Purdue on Aug. 25-26. It also owns victories over LSU, Northern Iowa, Iowa State and at then-No. 9 Minnesota.
CU is hitting .266 on the year in all matches to lead the BIG EAST and has limited its opponents to a hitting mark of .141 to also lead the league.
Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year Norah Sis missed the first matchup against MU and a total of 11 matches due to injury. She's second on the team with 3.54 kills per set on the year, while reigning-BIG EAST Freshman of the year Ava Martin averages 3.73 kills per set on a hitting mark of .259.
Creighton has won all seven matches and 21 sets since its sweep at the hands of MU on Oct. 6 in Milwaukee.
Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is in her 21st season with the Bluejays.

SERIES HISTORY WITH CREIGHTON:

Marquette is 7-26 all-time against the Bluejays with all but five of those meetings coming after CU joined the BIG EAST for the 2013 campaign.
MU swept then-No. 15 Creighton, 25-21, 25-23, 25-19, at the Al McGuire Center on Oct. 6 in the last matchup. Aubrey Hamilton hit .379 (13-2-29) with a match-high 13 kills and Hattie Bray hit .412 (10-3-17) with five blocks.
The two squads split the two regular season matches last season and each team won on its home court.
The Jays won both matches last season in Omaha in five sets. The Golden Eagles tied the BIG EAST tournament final with a 33-31 fourth set victory before falling, 15-12, in the fifth. Hamilton had a career- and match-high 25 kills for MU, while Yadhira Anchante had 57 assists and a career-best 25 digs.
Outside of the St. John's surprise run to the BIG EAST tournament title in 2019, only MU and Creighton have won league titles since the conference reformed in 2013.

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 noon and 3:30 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).