OMAHA, Neb. – The 2018 BIG EAST Volleyball Championships kicked off Friday at D.J. Sokol Arena on the campus of Creighton in Omaha, Neb. For a second straight year the final will feature the BIG EAST’s top two teams, Creighton and Marquette. Host No. 1 seed Creighton swept No. 4 seed Villanova (25-17, 25-17, 25-19) in the second semifinal on Friday, while No. 2 seed Marquette defeated No. 3 seed St. John’s 3-1 (16-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-19) in the first semifinal. The championship match is set for Saturday at 5 p.m. ET and will be televised live on FS2. The Bluejays defeated the Golden Eagles in five sets in last season’s title match.
In the initial set of the first semifinal, St. John’s was led by BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Efrosini Alexakou who tallied seven kills as the Red Storm won 25-16. BIG EAST Libero of the Year, Amanda Sanabia, collected 11 digs for St. John’s. The Red Storm hit .429 in the first set with 18 total kills to Marquette’s 11. Allie Barber led the No. 16 Golden Eagles with four kills and Martha Konovodoff had four digs to anchor their defense.
St. John’s got off to another hot start in the second set going up 11-6, but Marquette came charging back taking seven points in a row to go up 13-11. The teams exchanged points until a pair of kills by Barber and Hope Werch put the Golden Eagles up by a couple points 23-21. Marquette went on to take the second set 25-23. Barber collected nine kills, and Sanabia gathered 10 digs, both leading all players in the second set.
Marquette jumped out to a quick lead in the third set taking an 11-4 advantage, but St. John’s responded by scoring six of the next eight points to make it 13-10. The Red Storm cut it down to two points at 16-14 before the Golden Eagles went on an eight point run for set point. Marquette went up two matches to one after taking the third set 25-16. Barber collected five kills and Sanabia notched seven digs to lead all players.
The Golden Eagles went up early in the fourth set 8-3 after St. John’s grabbed the first three points. The Red Storm got within one point at 17-16 before Marquette churned out four points to go up 21-16. The Golden Eagles set up match point off a kill by Jenna Rosenthal before winning the set 25-19. Barber had a match-high 23 kills, while Sanabia recorded a match-high 29 digs for the Red Storm.
In the first set of the second semifinal, No. 9 Creighton jumped out to a 10 point lead at 17-7, before Villanova rallied off four points in a row to get within six. The Bluejays went on to take set one 25-17 off of six kills by BIG EAST Player of the Year Jaali Winters. She led the set in kills, while teammate Brittany Witt led the way in digs and aces with six and two, respectively. Mallory Potts connected on four kills for Villanova.
Creighton went up in the second set 13-5 before Villanova chipped away with five points in a row of their own. The Bluejays took control and came away with a 25-17 win in the second set off a kill by Taryn Kloth who led the set with five kills along with Villanova’s Amanda Pedersen-Henry. Witt had eight digs to lead all players.
In the third set, Villanova kept it close and took the lead at 10-9. Creighton came storming back to go up 24-18 for match point. Kloth slammed a kill to win the set 25-19, earning the sweep over the Wildcats. Winters recorded a match-high 13 kills, while Witt notched a match-best 22 digs. Pedersen-Henry led Villanova with eight kills, and Regan Lough had a team-high 14 digs.
2018 BIG EAST Volleyball Championship
Presented by Jeep
Semifinals - Nov. 23 on BEDN
No. 2 seed Marquette 3, No. 3 seed St. John’s 1
No. 1 seed Creighton 3, No. 4 seed Villanova 0
Final - Nov. 24 on FS2
No. 2 seed Marquette at No. 1 seed Creighton at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT