Last Night in #BIGEASTvb – 8.27
NEW YORK – BIG EAST volleyball went 6-5 on opening day, highlighted by a Marquette upset over No. 7 USC on the road in the late night finale. St. John’s defeated Rutgers and Bryant to finish their weekend 2-0. Three matches went to five sets; five were sweeps. Of the five sweeps, three were BIG EAST victories.
Saturday brings 16 more BIG EAST matches – including the season-opener for preseason favorite No. 18 Creighton.
Marquette 3, No. 7 USC 1
Freshman Madeline Mosher put a stamp in her collegiate debut with the match-winning kill as the Marquette University women's volleyball team got the 2016 started off on a high note with an upset victory over No. 7 USC 3-1 (16-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-22) in the season opener on Friday evening. This was MU's (1-0) second victory over a top-10 opponent in program history after the Golden Eagles defeated No. 7 Florida in the 2014 campaign and the second consecutive season that the squad knocked off a top-25 opponent on the road to open the season as Marquette swept No. 21 Iowa State in the 2015 opener. After dropping the first set, MU rallied to win three consecutive sets paced by 12 kills from redshirt sophomore Taylor Louis. The attack was balanced as redshirt senior Meghan Niemann and Mosher tallied seven kills each, while redshirt sophomore Jenna Rosenthal and freshman Allie Barber each chipped in six kills. It was USC's first-ever loss to a BIG EAST team.
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St. John’s 3, Rutgers 0
St. John’s swept Big Ten foe Rutgers (25-17, 25-21, 25-19) to move to 16-7 all-time in opening matches. The Red Storm was tremendous on both sides of the ball with a .272 attacking percentage, while holding the Scarlet Knights to .075. Julia Cast, a preseason All-BIG EAST Team member, led the way for the Johnnies picking up 12 kills and a .333 attacking percentage. Making her collegiate debut, Erica Di Maulo dished out 39 out of the team's 43 assists playing at the setter position.
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DePaul 3, Loyola Chicago 1
In the season opener for the DePaul volleyball team, double-doubles from Brittany Maxwell and Colleen Smith helped the Blue Demons to their first win of the 2016 season by defeating Loyola Friday afternoon, 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-23, 25-17). Maxwell had a team-high 13 kills for DePaul and was one of three Blue Demons to register double-digit digs with 10 to earn her first career double-double.
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St. John’s 3, Bryant 0
The Red Storm was able to maintain its undefeated all-time record (4-0) against Bryant with a 3-0, (25-18, 25-19, 25-18), triumph. Di Maulo, a newcomer from Italy, was superb again on the day with a team-leading 31 assists with four kills. The Red Storm's leader in blocks from a season ago, Moss, had five blocks, while adding seven kills.
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Villanova 3, Florida Gulf Coast 0
Villanova swept Florida Gulf Coast 25-18, 25-22, and 25-21 at the Bobcat Invitational presented by OMG! Rotisserie in Athens, Ohio. The Wildcats had late runs of 7-0, 7-1, and 4-2 to hold off the Eagles from winning a set. 2016 Preseason All-BIG EAST outside hitter Allie Loitz led the Wildcats with 15 kills, 13 digs, and a .433 hitting percentage in a double-double performance. Senior Claire Crutchfield added 13 kills, including seven in the first set to pace the Wildcat offense.
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Xavier 3, Missouri State 2
Xavier volleyball opened the season with a come-from-behind five set (18-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-17, 16-14) victory over Missouri State in the opening game of the Illini Classic. Three Musketeers recorded double-figure kills on the night in Sofia Peterson (17), Abbey Bessler (16) and Alexis Newsome (10). Kristen Massa added eight, while Morgan Finn chipped in six. Sofia Peterson also posted a team-high .400 hitting percentage. Her 17 kills also marked a career high.
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Gonzaga 3, Butler 2
Gonzaga and Butler battled through five sets to declare a winner. In the end, Gonzaga would pull through to win the event 3-2 (25-19, 17-25, 30-28, 22-25, 15-11). Anna Logan moved into a tie for fourth place all-time at Butler with 29 total kills against Gonzaga, just three shy of tying the school single-match record of 32. The last Bulldog to reach 29 kills in a match was All-American Belle Obert who reached the total during the 2014 season. Logan was tremendous in the opener to record 29 kills off 62 swings (.355). She was second on the team with 20 digs and also contributed three assists and two blocks.
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American 3, Georgetown 2
Despite 19 kills from Liv King and double-double efforts from two other players, the Georgetown University volleyball team fell to American University, 3-2 (19-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-20, 15-13). Alyssa Sinnette was right behind King with 18 kills and completed the double-double with 11 digs. Ashlie Williams and Symone Speech were both in double figures with 12 and 11 kills, respectively, while Speech also added six total blocks.
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Notre Dame 3, Seton Hall 0
Senior Danielle Schroeder recorded a match-high 13 kills, but the Seton Hall women's volleyball team lost its season-opener at Notre Dame, 3-0 (23-25, 20-25, 19-25), in its first match of the Golden Dome Invitational. The teams played a tight first set which featured 11 ties and neither team grabbing a lead of more than four points.
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Northern Illinois 3, DePaul 1
DePaul forced a fourth set against host Northern Illinois Friday night, but could not complete the comeback and suffered its first loss of the season, 3-1 (25-17, 25-23, 27-29, 25-20). The Blue Demons were led by another pair of double-double performances. Jameson MacPhie registered a match-high 14 kills and 10 digs. Colleen Smith also finished with 10 digs along with a team-high 26 assists. Brittany Maxwell was the only other Blue Demons with double-digit kills with 13.
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San Jose State 3, Providence 0
Providence dropped its season opener to San Jose State, 3-0, in San Jose, Calif. Providence fell in the first set, 25-18, and lost the second set, 25-19. San Jose State closed out the match with a 25-20 victory in the third set. The Friars were led offensively by sophomores Megan Onyundo and Allison Impellizeri, who each recorded seven kills. Freshman Cayla Veverka proved to be the most efficient Friar on offense with six kills on eight total attacks for a team-best .500 hitting percentage.
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#BIGEASTvb Saturday & Sunday Schedule
Saturday, Aug. 27
SETON HALL vs. Western Michigan (Notre Dame, Ind.) – 10 a.m.
XAVIER at No. 14 Illinois – 11 a.m.
GEORGETOWN vs. Howard – 11 a.m.
VILLANOVA vs. No. 22 Western Kentucky (Athens, Ohio) – 12:30 p.m.
BUTLER vs. Idaho State (Salt Lake City, Utah) – 2 p.m.
PROVIDENCE vs. Manhattan (San Jose, Calif.) – 2 p.m.
MARQUETTE vs. UC Irvine (Los Angeles, Calif.) – 3 p.m.
DEPAUL vs. Iowa (DeKalb, Ill.) – 4:30 p.m.
SETON HALL vs. Cleveland State (Notre Dame, Ind.) – 4:30 p.m.
No. 18 CREIGHTON vs. Wichita State (Ames, Iowa) – 5 p.m.
XAVIER vs. Arkansas (Champaign, Ill.) – 5:30 p.m.
GEORGETOWN at George Mason – 7 p.m.
PROVIDENCE vs. UMass-Lowell (San Jose, Calif.) – 7 p.m.
VILLANOVA at Ohio – 7 p.m.
MARQUETTE vs. Santa Clara (Los Angeles, Calif.) – 8 p.m.
BUTLER at Utah – 9 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 28
No. 18 CREIGHTON at Iowa State – 3 p.m.