Oct. 4, 2009

Box Score

Box Score

MILWAUKEE- The Marquette University women's volleyball team earned its first BIG EAST Conference victory Sunday afternoon by defeating Rutgers 3-0 (25-14, 25-12, 25-18).

"We executed a lot better today," head coach Bond Shymansky said. "On Friday we passed well at times and poorly at times, it was very up and down, so we went from rags to riches a lot on Fridays match, and it cost us.

"But today we stayed strong the whole way through and executed just perfectly in passing.That helped us a ton. I told the team that I believed in them, and that I believe that they have a great attitude about what they can accomplish, and they did, they showed it.  They showed it before the match, they showed it during warm up, they showed it all the way through the match.  It's a good win for us; we needed it for sure. We need to take that confidence on the road next weekend."

Marquette (11-7, 1-3 BIG EAST) took an early 4-0 lead in the first set, highlighted by one of Rabbecka Gonyo's two kills in the frame. The Golden Eagles hit a season-high .591, besting their previous of .577 against Loyola (Ill.).  Ashley Beyer led the Golden Eagles with four kills, and Marquette was error-free in the first frame. The 11-point victory was the largest margin in the first set for MU this season. 

The Golden Eagles continued their dominance in the second set, winning it for the first time since September 13 against Ohio State.  The 13-point win, 25-12, tied Marquette's largest margin of victory in a set this season. Shymansky's squad took an early lead with a six-point run, and closed the set with four straight points. Beyer added five kills on 10 attacks for the Golden Eagles, while Leslie Bielski and Nikki Klingsporn hit 1.000 in the frame.

In the final set, MU took a 7-1 lead but Rutgers came back with an eight-point run of its own, capitalizing on four MU service errors and RU kills by Kyra Thompson and Hannah Curtis. Despite being tied seven times, the Golden Eagles never lost their control, battling off the Scarlet Knights with five kills and two RU service errors. Marquette captured the set and match with a six-point run to defeat Rutgers, 25-18, in front of a crowd of 532 on Dig Pink day at the Al McGuire Center.

MU posted its best defensive effort of the season, holding the Scarlet Knights to a .000 hitting percentage. Beyer was one dig shy of a double-double, adding nine digs to her 12 kills. Emma Chrystal led Rutgers with seven kills, and Stephanie Zielinski tallied 13 assists for the visitors.

The Golden Eagles will be in action at Connecticut and St. John's on Oct. 9 and 11, respectively, before returning to the Al McGuire Center for a four-match homestand. The next home match in Milwaukee will be against Georgetown on Friday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m., which will be followed by the annual Marquette Madness basketball event.