NEW YORK – After 29 matches in three days of action, opening weekend of the 2019 volleyball season has come to a close. All 10 BIG EAST programs were in action spanning from Honolulu, Hawaii to Provo, Utah to our nation’s capital. Opening weekend play saw five matchups against top-25 programs, one top-10 win, and two programs crowned tournament champions.
No. 16 Marquette (3-0) opened the 2019 season with a 3-0 mark at the BYU Nike Invitational headlined by a 3-1 win over No. 9 BYU. During Friday’s doubleheader, the Golden Eagles did not relinquish a set, topping Utah Valley 3-0 before dismantling Boise State 3-0 in the night session. Marquette closed out opening weekend with the program’s third top-10 win and first since 2016 with a 3-1 win over the host Cougars.
DePaul (3-0) found success early in 2019 when the Blue Demons traveled to Springfield, Mo. for the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational. The Blue Demons took down Jacksonville, Southeast Missouri State, and host Missouri State en route to the tournament championship and the program’s first 3-0 start since 2013.
No. 18 Creighton (0-2) faced elite competition early as the Bluejays traveled to Lincoln, Neb. for the Husker Invitational. The Bluejays fell 3-1 to No. 2 Nebraska in front of a crowd of 8,450 on Friday night. Creighton then dropped to No. 20 Baylor on Saturday evening 3-0 to round out the first weekend of action.
Butler (1-2) opened the 2019 season with a trip to Auburn, Ala. for the War Eagle Invitational. The Bulldogs fell 3-0 to New Mexico State before clinching a 3-0 win over Tennessee State and closing out the weekend with a dramatic 3-2 loss to host Auburn.
Georgetown (3-1) hosted the Georgetown Classic where the Hoyas went 3-1. Georgetown recorded wins against Rider, Sacred Heart, and Central Connecticut but fell to Central Arkansas in the tournament finale.
With the impending Hurricane Dorian, the Friars trip to the Puerto Rico Clasico was canceled prior to team travel. Instead Providence (1-1) began the 2019 campaign with a trip to Fairfax, Va. for matches against East Carolina and George Mason. The Friars split opening day with a loss to the Pirates of ECU and a rout of the Patriots from George Mason.
St. John’s (0-3) made the journey to Honolulu, Hawaii for the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic. The Red Storm faced top competition and dropped tough matches to No. 13 Washington, RV Hawaii, and No. 21 San Diego.
Seton Hall (0-3) made the trip to Baltimore for the Morgan State/Towson Invitational. On Friday, the Pirates fell to Morgan State in a five-set affair, while Saturday saw straight set loses to Quinnipiac and Towson.
Villanova (2-1) participated in the Cowtown Classic, hosted by TCU. The Wildcats won two out of three, defeating Lipscomb and High Point, before TCU handed the Wildcats their first loss of the season in four sets.
Xavier (2-1) traveled to Logan, Utah to kick off 2019 at the Utah State Tournament. The Musketeers picked up victories over host Utah State and Eastern Michigan after falling to Southern Utah in the opener.