Marquette Opens Four-Match Road Swing
10/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
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MILWAUKEE -- The Marquette University women's volleyball team begins a four-match road swing this week, starting with St. John's on Friday, Oct. 27 at 4 p.m. Central time and Seton Hall on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. CT.
The Golden Eagles (15-7, 9-2) went .500 last week, tallying a sweep over Xavier and a narrow five-set loss to Butler. Sophomore Allie Barber led the Golden Eagles in both matches, beginning with 18 kills in the win over the Musketeers and a career-best 27 kills in Saturday's showing. Freshman Hope Werch also recorded her fifth double-double of the season (10 kills, 12 digs) over the weekend.
Lauren Speckman still sits atop the leaderboard in assists, ranking first in the BIG EAST and second in the NCAA with an impressive 12.28 assists per set. As a team, MU is averaging 13.77 assists per set.
The Red Storm (12-14, 4-7) have collected three league victories over the past five matches and most recently took down Providence on the road, 3-1. The Friars recorded more kills, blocks, digs and a higher hitting percentage than St. John's, but sophomore Amanda Sanabia notched a career-high four service aces and a match-high 20 digs to help SJU pull ahead.
Prior to being blanked at then-No. 16 Creighton, Seton Hall (13-11, 7-4) had won three straight in conference play versus Providence, St. John's and Villanova. Junior Abby Thelen leads the offensive effort for the Pirates with 3.73 kills per set at a .234 clip, while senior Sarah Kenneweg anchors the defense with 3.74 digs per set.
Marquette owns the edge in series histories between both programs, with a 13-5 record over the Red Storm. Four of the last five meetings between the programs have gone to five sets, and MU swept St. John's in Milwaukee in the opening weekend of league play.
The Golden Eagles hold a 13-4 all-time mark against Seton Hall and have not dropped a match to the Pirates since 2014.
Following the weekend, Marquette will travel to Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday, Nov. 4 to take on Creighton, then finishes out the road swing in a matchup against Providence on Sunday, Nov. 5.
