Last Night In #BIGEASTvb – 10.26
NEW YORK – Friday night in BIG EAST volleyball featured five matches with all 10 teams in action. No. 10 Creighton reached the midway point of conference play with a 9-0 mark following a defeat of Providence, 3-0. No. 11 Marquette moved to 8-1 and sits in second place with a 3-1 victory over St. John’s at Carnesecca Arena. Villanova moved into sole possession of third place with a five-set win over Butler for the program’s first win in Hinkle Fieldhouse since joining the BIG EAST in 2013. Xavier picked up its fifth win of the season in a five-set thriller over Georgetown to move into a three-way tie for fourth place. DePaul snapped its two-match losing streak with an afternoon win over Seton Hall 3-1.
The fifth week of BIG EAST volleyball action rolls on with four matches on Saturday and one match on Sunday.
DePaul 3, Seton Hall 1 (25-17,21-25,25-17,25-21)
DePaul (11-10, 3-6 BIG EAST) picked up its first BIG EAST road win on Friday afternoon with a 3-1 triumph over Seton Hall (7-16, 2-7). Brittany Maxwell recorded a double-double to lead the Blue Demons with 21 kills and 11 digs, while Emma Price chipped in 10 kills and freshman Bailey Nelson added eight. Natalie Hayward spread the ball well with 26 assists to go along with a match-high four service aces. Freshman Elana Brueggemann led the Blue Demons defense with 13 digs while middle blocker’s Avarie Evans-Allen and Donna Brown registered five blocks apiece. Seton Hall was led by 19 kills from Amanda Rachwal and 12 from Reece Koehler. Setter Maggie Cvelbar turned a match-high 40 assists while Raygan Murray led the back line with 13 digs.
Creighton 3, Providence 0 (25-23,27-25,25-22)
No. 10 Creighton (16-3, 9-0) extended its BIG EAST regular season win streak to 28 matches with a 3-0 win over host Providence (5-17, 0-9). In a highly contested match with each set being decided by just two points, Erica Kostelac provided a lift for the visiting Bluejays with 14 kills. Jaela Zimmerman added nine kills, two service aces, and two blocks while Megan Ballenger posted eight kills and four blocks to pace Creighton at the net. Senior libero Brittany Witt collected a match-high 17 digs while setter Madelyn Cole posted a season-high in three-set matches with 42 assists to go along with seven digs. Providence was led by 13 kills from Brielle Mullally and 11 kills from Addison Root.
Villanova 3, Butler 2 (17-25,25-22,22-25,25-22,15-8)
Villanova (15-6, 6-3) moved into third place in BIG EAST standings with a historic 3-2 win over Butler (8-13, 5-4). Friday night served as the first win for the Wildcats at the historic Hinkle Fiedhouse since joining the BIG EAST in 2013. Villanova's offense was led by Emma Decker's 49 assists, double-digit kills from Clare Delaplane (14), Kathleen Johnson (11), Sophia Howling and Allie Olsonoski (10 each). Four Wildcats also finished with double digit digs as Regan Lough led with 24, Delaplane had 13 and Sarah Allman and Decker each had 12. In Friday night’s match Lough moved into second in program history for total digs with 1,732. Butler received 13 kills apiece from Shay Horn and Brooke Gregory while Melody Davidson chipped in 10. Elizabeth LaBue, reigning BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, turned in another stellar performance with 32 digs on the back line.
Marquette 3, St. John's 1 (25-23,28-26,23-25,25-15)
No. 11 Marquette (18-3, 8-1) won its third straight road match on Friday evening with a 3-1 win at St. John’s (13-9, 5-4). In an all-around team performance for the Golden Eagles, Allie Barber led the way with 18 kills while junior Hope Werch and sophomore Ellie Koontz added 15 and 11, respectively. Werch and classmate Sarah Rose each tallied a double-double as Werch added 12 digs and Rose dished 21 assists with 14 digs. It was the fifth double-double on the season for Werch and fourth for Rose. Lauren Speckman handed out 27 helpers, while Martha Konovodoff and Hannah Vanden Berg each collected 11 digs. Elizabeth Orf controlled the net for the Golden Eagles with a match-high seven blocks. St. John's was led by Efrosini Alexakou with 19 kills, while Rachelle Rastelli added 11. Erica Di Maulo dished out 44 assists and Amanda Sanabia collected 17 digs.
Xavier 3, Georgetown 2 (21-25,19-25,25-14,27-25,15-11)
Xavier (8-11, 5-4) moved into a three-way tie for fourth place with a reverse sweep of visiting Georgetown (12-11, 2-7), 3-2. Down 0-2 in the match, the Musketeers rallied to claim sets three, four, and five behind stalwart defense. Jayda Carlton continued her league leading performance at the net with eight blocks to go along with eight kills on .300 hitting. Madi Kutruff paced the back line with a match-high 23 digs. Freshman Lauren Hanlon turned in an all-around performance with 12 kills, 11 digs and three blocks. Ellie Chafee chipped in 10 kills to bolster the Musketeers attack. Georgetown was led by Peyton Wilhite and Riley Wertzberger with 18 and 17 kills, respectively. Iva Vujosevic added 12 kills, 11 digs, one ace, and three blocks. Libero Jessica Cusi led the Hoyas defensive efforts with 18 digs.
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#BIGEASTvb Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, October 26
DEPAUL at ST. JOHN’S at 5 p.m.
No. 11 MARQUETTE at SETON HALL at 5 p.m.
VILLANOVA at XAVIER at 6 p.m.
No. 10 CREIGHTON at PROVIDENCE at 6 p.m.
Sunday, October 27
GEORGETOWN at BUTLER at 6 p.m.
RESULTS
DEPAUL 3, SETON HALL 1
VILLANOVA 3, BUTLER 2
No. 10 CREIGHTON 3, PROVIDENCE 0
XAVIER 3, GEORGETOWN 2
No. 11 MARQUETTE 3, ST. JOHN’S 1