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Sept. 8, 2007

Final Stats

CHAMPAIGN - The Marquette volleyball team fell, 3-1, (26-30, 30-25, 19-30, 22-30) to the Tennessee Lady Volunteers in Champaign, Ill., in the consolation match of the State Farm Illini Classic.

Leading the way for Marquette (2-5), was senior Kim Todd who posted 19 kills. Senior Katie Weidner dished out 51 assists, while junior Terri Angst collected 18 digs. Senior Jenn Brown added 10 kills and four blocks in the match.

"I felt like the team did a good job of coming together with our front line and as a team in the second game," head coach Pati Rolf said. "We really have to focus on starting strong and finishing strong. We're definitely being challenged by these top 30 teams, but I feel like our lineup is settling in and we're getting better effort out of everyone."

The Lady Vols (5-2) were led by Nikki Fowler who finished with a match-high 17 kills. Jena Berg dished out 52 assists and Chloe Goodman collected 27 digs.

Marquette had control of game one early on, as a kill by Todd kept them ahead, 6-5. The Golden Eagles committed no hitting errors in the first half of game one, and pushed the lead to 12-9. Tennessee earned it's first lead on a service ace as they took control of the game, 20-19. MU kept fighting strong as a kill from Todd pushed them back into a 22-21 advantage. Trailing 23-22, Marquette used its first timeout and tied the score at 25 apiece on blocks from Tiffany Helmbrecht and Rabbecka Gonyo. A kill from Gonyo tied the score at 26, but the Golden Eagles would not score again and fell 30-26. Gonyo smashed five kills and had only one error for a .571 hitting percentage. Todd also added five kills.

The Golden Eagles came out strong in game two as a kill by Gonyo gave them a 3-2 lead. The Lady Vols pushed back when consecutive net violations from Marquette tied the score at seven. After an MU service error, the Golden Eagles ran off five unanswered points to give them their largest lead at 18-11. Marquette continued to stay ahead, but the Lady Vols went on a 7-2 run and pushed the score to 26-24, and forced MU to take a timeout. Out of the break, the Golden Eagles scored first on a Tennessee miscue, but the Lady Vols returned with a point of their own. Hailey Viola served an ace to play for game point and the Golden Eagles won the second stanza, 30-25 on a Tennessee error. Todd connected on seven kills, while Jenn Brown slammed four. Marquette combined for a .295 hitting percentage.

A 4-0 run by Tennessee opened the third game, but a kill by Todd and blocks by Weidner and Brown pushed the score to 4-2. The Golden Eagles could not connect on attempts as the Lady Vols went on a 10-3 run and took a 14-5 lead. Trailing 18-10, Julie Richards entered the game and scored the next four points for Marquette to bring the score to 21-14. Marquette could not recover and fell in the third stanza, 19-30. Richards posted a .625 hitting percentage on five kills and no errors.

Marquette crept out to an early lead in the fourth game as a kill by Todd gave MU its first lead at 4-3. A kill by Helmbrecht kept them ahead, 10-7, but the Lady Vols went on a 7-2 run that put them ahead, 15-14. The Golden Eagles struggles continued as Tennessee ran off a 6-1 run, that forced MU to take a timeout, trailing 21-16. MU pushed to within four points on a block by Weidner and Gonyo, but could not put any more pressure on tennesse as they dropped the fourth game, 22-30.

Marquette will be back in action on Friday, September 14, when they host Belmont in the opening game of the Marquette Challenge. The match begins at 7 p.m.