Sept. 20, 2012

Marquette vs. Syracuse
Saturday, Sept. 22
Al McGuire Center 
1 p.m.

Watch Live | GameTracker | Marquette Notes (PDF) 

MILWAUKEE - Marquette begins its eighth season of competition in the BIG EAST Conference when it hosts Syracuse on Saturday, Sept. 22 at 1 p.m. at the Al McGuire Center.

Syracuse, which defeated No. 18 Iowa State on Sept. 8, is led by former Louisville head coach Leonid Yelin and enters the contest 7-7 overall following a five-set loss to Binghamton Wednesday evening.

The match will feature live statistics through GameTracker as well as live, streaming video through GoMarquette.com's multimedia platform, MUTube. Marquette alumnus Kyle Dlabay will be on the call.

Saturday is Girl Scout Day at the Al, featuring $2 admission for girl scouts and troop leaders, along with Marquette's second clinic of the season following the match.

The Last Meeting

Marquette	3
Syracuse	1

October 15, 2011
Syracuse, N.Y.

Volleyball Recovers For 3-1 Win at Syracuse The Marquette University women's volleyball team recovered from a first set loss to remain undefeated in BIG EAST Conference play with a 18-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-14 victory over Syracuse Saturday afternoon at the Women's Building in Syracuse, N.Y.

Recap | Box Score

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION:
SYRACUSE [7-7 (0-0 BIG EAST) | SUAthletics.com | @Cuse]: Syracuse comes to Milwaukee following consecutive losses at Buffalo and a five-set defeat Wednesday at home against Binghamton. The loss to Binghamton came after the Orange had taken a 2-0 lead into the intermission with a pair extra-point set victories. Marquette's conference travel partner, Syracuse began the season with three straight victories and followed that up with five-consecutive losses. The Orange's current losing streak was preceded by four wins, including a 3-2 upset of No. 18 Iowa State on Sept. 8. Syracuse is directed by head coach Leonid Yelin, while freshman outside hitter Silvi Uattara leads the squad with 3.67 kills per set. The Orange also lead the BIG EAST in blocks with 2.53 per set. In the last meeting between the two programs, Marquette defeated Syracuse 3-1 on Oct. 15, 2011. The Golden Eagles have won the last three contests against the Orange, all under Shymansky. Series history: MU leads 5-4.

MARQUETTE ENDS PRE-CONFERENCE COMPETITION 9-3: Marquette concluded the pre-conference portion of its schedule Saturday with an overall record of 9-3, which includes a victory over then-No. 23 Michigan and losses to Northwestern, then-No. 25 Northern Iowa and Pacific. The Golden Eagles enter conference play with at least nine victories for the third time in head coach Bond Shymansky's four-year tenure at MU. Marquette's three losses are the fewest for a Shymansky-coached MU squad heading into BIG EAST competition. The Golden Eagles' record has improved each year in the BIG EAST under Shymansky, going from 6-8 in 2009 to 11-3 in 2010 and 12-2 in 2011.

CARLSON EARNS BIG EAST HONOR ROLL MENTION: Senior middle hitter Danielle Carlson was named to the BIG EAST Conference Weekly Honor Roll Monday, Sept. 17, for her play in the Marquette Invitational. Carlson helped the Golden Eagles to a runner-up finish over the weekend with wins over Iowa and Milwaukee. The 2012 All-BIG EAST Preseason Team selection and 2011 AVCA All-American has earned all-tournament or most valuable player honors at each tournament MU has competed in this fall. Fellow senior Holly Mertens was also named All-Marquette Invitational.

MARQUETTE TO HOST 2012 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP: Marquette University was awarded the right to host the 2012 BIG EAST Conference Women's Volleyball Championship, the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced Thursday, Aug. 30. The Al McGuire Center will welcome MU's BIG EAST foes on Friday, Nov. 16 through the title match on Sunday, Nov. 18, which will be televised live on ESPNU. It is the second year in a row, and third time since joining the league, that Marquette will host the conference tournament in Milwaukee. The Golden Eagles also hosted in 2007 and 2011 at the Al McGuire Center.

ALL HOME MATCHES STREAMED FOR THIRD-STRAIGHT YEAR: All Marquette volleyball home matches this fall will be streamed live on GoMarquette.com's multimedia platform, MUTube (GoMarquette.com/allaccess/). Play-by-Play duties will be shared during the campaign by Kyle Dlabay (Comm, `06), Armen Saryan (620 WTMJ/Comm, `06) and Eric Brooks (620 WTMJ). They will be joined throughout the season by special guests, including former Marquette AVCA All-American Ciara Jones (Comm, `12). 

FOLLOW MARQUETTE VOLLEYBALL ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK: Be sure to follow Marquette volleyball on Twitter (@MarquetteVB) and "like" us on Facebook (/MarquetteVolleyball) for updates throughout the year. In addition to live stats and video links found on GoMarquette.com, @MarquetteVB on Twitter will provide live in-match updates during all matches. 

QUICK HITS/RECENT PROGRAM HISTORY:

• The Al McGuire Center will host the 2012 BIG EAST Women's Volleyball Championship on Nov. 16-18.
• Setter Elizabeth Koberstein ranks fourth in the BIG EAST and 30th in the nation with 11.28 assists per set, while outside hitter Lindsey Gosh's 0.58 service aces per set rank first in the league and seventh in the ntaion. MU leads the conference as a team with 14.07 kills per set and ranks third in hitting percentage (.254) and assists per set (12.88).
• Marquette was picked second in the BIG EAST Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. Seniors Danielle Carlson and Holly Mertens were both All-BIG EAST Preseason Team selections
• Six Marquette players have earned AVCA All-America honors over the last two years, while three of those players have gone on to play professionally. Carlson could become MU's first two-time AVCA All-American.
• Shymansky earned BIG EAST Conference and AVCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year honors in 2011, his second such awards after earning ACC and AVCA East Region honors in 2004.

UP NEXT: Marquette makes its second road trip of the season, and first of BIG EAST Conference play, when it travels to Notre Dame to take on the Fighting Irish Saturday, Sept. 29 at the Purcell Pavilion. Following a 1 p.m. CT contest with Notre Dame, the Golden Eagles will head north for a 2 p.m. Sunday showdown with DePaul in Chicago.