Volleyball opens BIG EAST play Friday against Villanova

Match Notes (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University women's volleyball team begins BIG EAST Conference play this weekend at the Al McGuire Center with matches against Villanova and Georgetown on Friday and Saturday evening, respectively.

Friday's conference opener against VU is slated for 7 p.m. Central time and Saturday's match against the Hoyas will follow at 6 p.m. CT.

Both matches air live on FloSports with Bob Brainerd on the call. Live statistics are available for each match through GoMarquette.com.

As part of MU's Faculty and Staff Appreciation Weekend, all MU employees may claim complimentary tickets to either match for family and friends. Admission for faculty and staff is free with a valid MUID all season long.

The Golden Eagles will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15) at Friday night's match against Villanova.

Saturday's game will follow the Marquette University Homecoming Block Party, which will be held from 4-6 p.m. on N. 12th Street directly outside the front doors of the Al McGuire Center. The Block Party is the official kickoff of Homecoming activities and features food vendors, a cash bar, music, and games on the block between W. Wisconsin and W. Wells. Students can pick up the official MU Homecoming t-shirt during the match.

MARQUETTE (4-7)

Marquette outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton reached 1,000 career kills in the first set of the Sept. 13 match against No. 1 Wisconsin at Fiserv Forum. She averaged 4.14 kills per frame last week and was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday afternoon.
The Golden Eagles and Badgers played in front of 17,037 fans at Fiserv Forum, a NCAA regular season indoor attendance record, and the most spectators to ever attend a women's sporting event in the state of Wisconsin.
The UW match on Sept. 13 attracted 146,000 total-average viewers over 160 minutes on FS1, while MU's match on Sept. 17 against No. 7 Oregon recorded 325,000 total-average viewers over 96 minutes on an NFL Sunday. Nielsen data courtesy of SportsTVRatings.com.
Hamilton leads the Golden Eagles with 154 kills for an average of 3.58 per set. She also averages 1.95 digs per set with 12 service aces and 22 total blocks.
Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Hattie Bray is second on MU with 2.17 kills per set (91 total) and a team-high 27 total blocks.
The Golden Eagles are 13-5 all-time in BIG EAST Conference lid-lifters since their inaugural league season in 2005 and are 7-1 when those matches are played at the Al McGuire Center.
Marquette has won at a 74.5 percent clip (207-71) since joining the league and is 122-27 (.819) in BIG EAST matches under head coach Ryan Theis.
MU is 83-12 (.874) in BIG EAST play over the last six seasons under Theis (2017-22), including consecutive regular season league titles in 2021 (16-2) and 2022 (17-1).
Marquette was picked to win the BIG EAST in the annual preseason coaches' survey with seven first place votes.
MU entered the week with the nation's fifth-toughest schedule.
MU has 10 matches this season against teams currently ranked in the AVCA Coaches Poll (No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 6 Oregon, No. 8 Pitt, No. 11 Creighton (twice), No. 14 Tennessee, No. 17 Kansas, No. 19 Purdue, No. 23 Dayton, T-No. 25 Western Kentucky). MU is two spots outside of the rankings with 34 total points.
Through the season's first 11 matches, the Golden Eagles are hitting a combined .179 and allowing their opponents to hit .247.

VILLANOVA (9-3)

The Wildcats have won six of their last seven matches, including sweeps of Sacred Heart and Saint Franics (Pa.) last weekend at Jake Nevin Field House.
Abby Harrell's 152 kills (3.38 per set) lead VU, while Skylar Gerhardt (2.96) and Kiera Booth (2.27) each average over two kills per frame.
Nova opened the season with five-set wins over UNI and Milwaukee in Kalamazoo, Michigan and picked up a 3-1 win over Santa Clara on Sept. 3.
VU's losses have come at the hands of Western Michigan, Notre Dame and Lehigh.
The Wildcats are hitting .246 on the year, led by Madeline Barber's mark of .378.
Barber is the younger sister of former Marquette AVCA All-American Allie Barber.
Setter Andrea Campos is third in the BIG EAST with 10.18 assists per set.

SERIES HISTORY WITH VILLANOVA:

Marquette holds a 22-4 edge in the all-time series, which began when MU entered the BIG EAST for the 2005 campaign.
MU has won each of the last nine matches after a five-set loss at Jake Nevin on Oct. 14, 2017.
Each of the last three matches at the Al were MU sweeps.
Last fall, MU swept VU at home, 25-16, 25-22, 25-18, on Nov. 5 behind 12 kills from Aubrey Hamilton.

GEORGETOWN (9-3)

The Hoyas won all three matches last weekend against Penn, NJIT and Delaware State, and began the season at 4-0 after wins at Howard, George Mason, American and Radford.
Georgetown opponents are hitting just .144 against them and the Hoyas average over two blocks per set, with four players averaging at least 0.81 blocks per frame. GU's opponent hitting percentage is a league-best mark.
The Hoyas also rank second in the BIG EAST with 1.71 service aces. Grace Albaugh sits third in the league, individually, with 19 for an average of 0.47 per set.
Kamryn Lee-Caracci hits .407 to lead the BIG EAST and has recorded 15 service aces and 40 total blocks. She is second on the team with 103 kills (2.34 per set)
Libero Karis Park was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 4.55 digs per set in GU's wins over Penn, NJIT and Delaware State. She ranks sixth in the league in digs per frame for the season.
Head coach AJ Bonetti is in his first season as head coach at Georgetown after five seasons as an assistant coach at Maryland.

SERIES HISTORY WITH GEORGETOWN:

MU holds a 21-4 edge in the all-time series and has won each of the last 18 meetings. Over that time, the Hoyas have won just three of 57 total sets.
MU hit .366 in last year's sweep of Georgetown on Nov. 4 at the Al McGuire Center, led by nine kills apiece from Aubrey Hamilton and Jenns Reitsma. MU took the three sets, 25-17, 25-13, 25-10.
The lone matchup prior to MU's entrance to the BIG EAST in 2005 was a four-set win by the Hoyas in Sept. 1996.

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).