Volleyball to face St. John's on Friday in BIG EAST Semis

Match Notes (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University women's volleyball team will face third-seeded St. John's in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Conference Women's Volleyball Championship Presented by JEEP on Friday, Nov. 24 at the Al McGuire Center.

The two-seed Golden Eagles will play in the first semifinal at 12:30 p.m. Central time and be followed by top-seeded No. 17 Creighton's semifinal match against fifth-seeded DePaul at no earlier than 3 p.m. CT. Both semifinal matches air live on the BIG EAST Digital Network through FloSports.

The two teams that advance to Saturday's title match will play at 1 p.m. CT on FS2. Bob Brainerd (play-by-play) and Michelle Griffin-Wenzel will call all tournament matches at the Al McGuire Center and live statistics will be available through GoMarquette.com.

The winner of this week's tournament will receive the BIG EAST's automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship. The NCAA Selection Show is slated for 5 p.m. CT on Sunday, Nov. 26 on ESPNU.

MARQUETTE (20-9, 16-2 BIG EAST)

Setter Yadhira Anchante, outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton and middle hitters Hattie Bray and Carsen Murray were named to the All-BIG EAST Conference Team for the second time in as many years. Hamilton was a unanimous selection.
Hamilton leads MU this season with 383 kills (3.72 per set) on .274 hitting. She ranked second in BIG EAST play with 3.82 kills and 4.83 points per set while hitting .312.
Murray, the reigning BIG EAST Conference Defensive Player of the Week, hit a BIG EAST-best .420 in conference play and .382 overall. She also averaged a team-best 1.00 blocks per set in league action.
A key to Marquette's success in the last month has been the play of junior outside hitter Jenna Reitsma. Over the last 10 matches (beginning with the Oct. 20 contest at Butler), Reitsma is averaging a team-best 3.56 kills per set while hitting .317 (114-23-287) with 2.38 digs per set and a team-high 21 service aces. That Butler match coincided with a five-match stretch for Ella Foti as MU's setter in place of Yadhira Anchante, who was dealing with an illness.
Reitsma has not missed a beat since Anchante returned at setter, recording a career-high 18 kills at Villanova on Nov. 11 and seven service aces in a sweep at Georgetown on Nov. 10.
In BIG EAST play, MU hit a combined .283 and held its opponents to a mark of .148 with 2.38 blocks and 16.63 digs per set. Those four marks rank second in the conference, while MU led the league with 1.97 service aces per set.
Marquette has won at a 75.3 percent clip (223-73) since joining the BIG EAST in 2005 and is 138-29 (.826) in BIG EAST matches under head coach Ryan Theis.
MU is 99-14 (.876) 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. 5 Wisconsin, No. 3 Pitt, No. 6 Oregon, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 15 Kansas, No. 17 Creighton (twice), No. 19 Dayton, No. 13 Purdue and No. 21 Western Kentucky. MU is the first team outside the top 25 with 47 total points.

MARQUETTE BIG EAST TOURNAMENT HISTORY:

The Golden Eagles are 13-14 all-time in the BIG EAST Championship and won the 2013 tournament title over Creighton in Omaha, Nebraska.
MU seeks its first conference tournament title on its home court this week.
Marquette has previously hosted seven BIG EAST women's volleyball tournaments (2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2019, 2021)
Marquette has advanced to the title match on eight occasions but is just 1-7 in those matchups.
Last season, MU swept UConn in the BIG EAST semis and fell in five sets to tournament-host No. 15 Creighton. MU won the fourth set, 33-31, to even the title match before falling, 15-12, in the fifth. Hamilton and senior libero Carly Skrabak earned all-tournament recognition for their play in Omaha.

ST. JOHN'S (22-9, 13-5 BIG EAST)

The Red Storm finished third in the league's regular season standings with 13 conference wins after a 3-1 victory at DePaul to close the regular season on Saturday evening.
They hit .316 in a sweep of Villanova to open conference tournament play in Wednesday's first round at the Al McGuire Center. Erin Jones and Lucrezia Lodi each landed a match-best 12 kills, while Lodi added 10 digs and a pair of blocks.
Jones leads SJU with 3.61 kills per set on a hitting mark of .260. She also averages 2.08 assists and 2.04 digs per frame with 23 total service aces and 50 blocks in 112 sets played.
Giorgia Walther leads the Red Storm with 961 attacks this year but has connected at just a .136 clip and averages 3.07 kills per set.
Setter Wiktoria Kowalczyk has posted a team-best 41 service aces on the year and her 8.90 assists per set average ranks sixth in the conference. Her total aces are second in the league behind MU's Jenna Reitsma (46).
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 their way to a 2019 league tournament crown at the Al McGuire Center.

SERIES HISTORY WITH ST. JOHN'S:

Marquette is 24-8 all-time against the Red Storm and all 32 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.
MU won the most recent meeting on Friday evening at the Al McGuire Center in a 25-22, 25-17, 25-22 sweep. Jenna Reitsma had 12 kills in the win, while the Golden Eagles posted 11.0 team blocks in the three sets.
The Red Storm captured a five-set victory in the first 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.
MU swept SJU in both matches last season, including a career-high nine blocks from Carsen Murray in the final meeting on Oct. 22, 2022 in Milwaukee. Marquette had 13.0 team blocks 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:
- 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).