Last Night in #BIGEASTvb – 10.12
NEW YORK – BIG EAST volleyball action continued on Friday night with four matches on the slate. No. 13 Creighton, Xavier, and No. 10 Marquette claimed victories in convincing three-set sweeps, while Butler claimed a 3-1 win over visiting St. John’s.
No. 13 Creighton kicked off the weekend with a 3-0 sweep of DePaul on field trip day in Chicago. The Bluejays clinched their 24th consecutive BIG EAST regular season win on Friday afternoon to improve to 5-0 in conference action. Xavier picked up its second win in a row with a sweep of visiting Seton Hall behind a team hitting percentage of .398. The Musketeers move into a three-way tie for third in league standings with a 3-2 conference mark. Butler moved to 3-2 in BIG EAST action with a 3-1 win over St. John’s inside Hinkle Fieldhouse. No. 10 Marquette extended its winning streak to nine matches on Friday night with a 3-0 win over Providence. The Golden Eagles sit atop the league standings tied with Creighton at 5-0 in conference play.
On the schedule for Saturday night is St. John’s at Xavier, Seton Hall at Butler, Providence at DePaul and a top-15 showdown between No. 13 Creighton and No. 10 Marquette at the Al McGuire Center with a 7 p.m. ET first serve.
Villanova visits Big 5 rival La Salle for a non-conference matchup at 7 p.m.
Creighton 3, DePaul 0 (25-18,25-21,25-15)
No. 13 Creighton won its seventh straight match on Friday afternoon to improve to 12-3 overall and 5-0 in BIG EAST action. Creighton hit a blistering .429 in the win, including a staggering .714 in the third set to rank fourth in program history in hitting percentage in any set. DePaul dropped to 9-8 and is 1-4 in league action. Erica Kostelac led Creighton with a season-best .650 hitting percentage as she finished with 14 kills in 20 swings while also tying her career-high with four aces. Brittany Witt added four aces of her own to go along with a match-high nine digs. Donna Brown paced DePaul offensively with 11 kills on 2 errors for a .529 hitting percentage.
Creighton Up Next: No. 10 Marquette (10/12)
DePaul Up Next: Providence (10/12)
Xavier 3, Seton Hall 0 (25-19,25-23,25-17)
Xavier swept Seton Hall at the Cintas Center for its second BIG EAST win in a row. The Musketeers improved to 3-2 in the BIG EAST and 6-9 overall while Seton Hall falls to 7-13 and 2-4 in conference play. Friday’s match marked the first sweep of the season for Xavier as the Musketeers combined for a season-best .398 hitting percentage.
Moriah Hopkins led the team with 10 kills on a .444 hitting percentage to go along with two blocks. Jayda Carlton led the defense with six blocks at the net. Seton Hall was led by nine kills from Julia Wilkins while libero Raygan Murray recorded a team-high 10 digs.
Seton Hall Up Next: at Butler (10/12)
Xavier Up Next: St. John’s (10/12)
Butler 3, St. John's 1 (25-21,25-20,12-25,25-23)
Butler won the first two sets against visiting St. John's and would come out on top in set four 25-23 to claim their sixth win of the season. The Bulldogs improve to 3-2 in the BIG EAST standings and 6-11 overall. Brooke Gregory led the Bulldogs on both sides of the net with 11 kills to go along with a season-high eight blocks. Melody Davidson and Shay Horn bolstered the Bulldog offense with nine kills apiece with Megan Ramseyer dishing out a match-high 35 assists. Libero Elizabeth LaBue led Butler defensively with 22 digs For St John’s Efrosini Alexakou, reigning BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, recorded a match-high 17 kills and 19 digs.
Butler Up Next: Seton Hall (10/12)
St. John’s Up Next: at Xavier (10/12)
Marquette 3, Providence 0 (25-14,25-20,25-18)
No. 10 Marquette kept rolling on Friday night with a 3-0 sweep of visiting Providence. The Golden Eagles picked up their ninth win in a row and moved to 5-0 in BIG EAST action and 15-2 overall. Senior
Allie Barber connected on 11 kills with no errors to hit a career-high .688 clip in the match, while freshman
Hannah Vanden Berg tallied nine kills and senior
Gwyn Jones added six. Sophomore
Claire Mosher and junior
Sarah Rose dished out 16 and 12 assists, respectively as Rose added seven digs. Junior libero
Martha Konovodoff collected a match-high 17 digs and classmate
Hope Werch had a strong night serving as she compiled four aces. The Friars were led by Jennifer Leitman with 11 kills, while setter Allison Barber tallied a double-double with 17 assists and 10 digs.
Marquette Up Next: No. 13 Creighton (10/12)
Providence Up Next: at DePaul (10/12)
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#BIGEASTvb Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, Oct. 12
ST. JOHN'S at XAVIER at 6 p.m.
SETON HALL at BUTLER at 6 p.m.
No. 13 CREIGHTON at No. 10 MARQUETTE at 7 p.m.
PROVIDENCE at DEPAUL at 7 p.m.
VILLANOVA at La Salle at 7 p.m.
RESULTS
ST. JOHN'S 3, VILLANOVA 0
SETON HALL 3, GEORGETOWN 0
No. 13 CREIGHTON 3, DEPAUL 0
BUTLER 3, ST. JOHN’S 1
XAVIER 3, SETON HALL 0
No. 10 MARQUETTE 3, PROVIDENCE 0
All times are Eastern.
^BEDN