Georgetown moves to 3-0 in conference standings
NEW YORK – Heading into the second weekend of BIG EAST volleyball play, only one match will be played in the Northeast as Butler, DePaul, Marquette and Xavier all host. Seton Hall will visit St. John’s on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN) on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET as the lone match on the East Coast. Providence at Xavier on Friday will also be streamed on BEDN at 7 p.m.
Creighton will enter the weekend remaining at No. 10 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll. This is the third consecutive week the Bluejays have held onto the top-10 spot. Marquette held steady at No. 21 the past two weeks, but moved up one spot into the top-20. No. 20 marks the highest ranking for Marquette in school history. Prior to this season the highest ranking for the Golden Eagles had been No. 23.
On Friday evening, the first two matches begin at 7 p.m. with Creighton (10-4, 2-0 BIG EAST) visiting Butler (4-10, 1-1) and Providence (7-6, 1-1) at Xavier (3-10, 1-1). Georgetown (10-5, 3-0) will head to Marquette (10-4, 1-1) and DePaul (2-11, 0-2) hosts Villanova (9-6, 2-1), each with an 8 p.m. start time.
Saturday features Seton Hall (5-12, 0-4) at St. John’s (13-6, 2-2) and Creighton at Xavier, both beginning at 5 p.m., and an hour later, Providence will play at Butler at 6 p.m. Villanova takes on Marquette while Georgetown is at DePaul, both starting at 7 p.m.
St. John’s faltered at Villanova on Tuesday, 3-2, marking the first time in program history the Red Storm played four consecutive five-set matches, splitting all four. Junior libero Amanda Sanabia moved into ninth all-time at St. John’s in digs, adding 34 to her total of 1,078. The Wildcats, who won 25-23, 24-26, 25-22, 21-25, 15-12, were guided by senior middle blocker Amanda Pedersen-Henry who collected a season-high 17 kills.
Georgetown moves to the top of the league after a three-set victory (25-21, 25-16, 25-18) over visiting Seton Hall Wednesday evening, to remain unbeaten in BIG EAST matches. The Hoyas have now won six straight matches and are off to their best start in conference play since 2001. Senior middle blocker Symone Speech led the way with 13 kills while hitting .765 on 17 attempts. For the Pirates, senior outside hitter Abby Thelen recorded a match-high 14 kills and hit .310.
#BIGEASTvb Weekend Schedule
Friday, Sept. 28
No. 10 CREIGHTON at BUTLER at 7 p.m.
PROVIDENCE at XAVIER at 7 p.m. (
BEDN)
GEORGETOWN at No. 20 MARQUETTE at 8 p.m.
VILLANOVA at DEPAUL at 8 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 29
SETON HALL at ST. JOHN’S at 5 p.m. (
BEDN)
No. 10 CREIGHTON at XAVIER at 5 p.m.
PROVIDENCE at BUTLER at 6 p.m.
VILLANOVA at No. 20 MARQUETTE at 7 p.m.
GEOREGETOWN at DEPAUL at 7 p.m.
All times are Eastern.