Sept. 27, 2012

Marquette Volleyball (10-3, 1-0 BIG EAST)
Marquette Notes (PDF) 

at (RV) Notre Dame (9-5, 2-0 BIG EAST)
Watch Live | GameTracker
Saturday, Sept. 29
Purcell Pavilion
1 p.m. CT

at DePaul (5-10, 0-2 BIG EAST)
Watch Live | GameTracker
Sunday, Sept. 30
McGrath Arena
2 p.m. CT 

MILWAUKEE - The Marquette University women's volleyball team 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 at McGrath Arena in Chicago.

Live stats and streaming video will be available for each match on GoMarquette.com, courtesy of UND.com and DePaulBlueDemons.com. The Notre Dame match is a free broadcast, while the DePaul contest is available on a subscription basis.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION:

(RV) NOTRE DAME [9-5 (2-0 BIG EAST) | UND.com | @NDvolleyball]: Notre Dame began conference play last weekend by knocking off Cincinnati and BIG EAST preseason-favorite No. 10 Louisville on the road. The Fighting Irish were led by sophomore outside hitter Toni Alugbue, who was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Sept. 24 after leading ND with 26 kills against the Bearcats and 18 against the Cardinals. The Irish victory over U of L snapped the Cardinals' 10-match winning streak as was the first win for ND over a top-10 team since 2009. Alugbue leads the squad with 4.02 kills per set while also ranking third in digs (2.42) and fourth in blocks (33). Marquette swept the Irish in the last meeting between the two squads on Nov. 11, 2011 at the Al McGuire Center. MU and ND will also face each other on Nov. 11 of this season in Milwaukee. Series history: ND leads 10-4.

DePAUL [5-10 (0-2 BIG EAST) | DePaulBlueDemons.com | @DePaulAthletics]: The Blue Demons are 5-10 on the season after a Wednesday evening loss to Green Bay in five sets at McGrath Arena. The Golden Eagles have won three-straight matches against DePaul and are 10-1 in the last decade against the Blue Demons. Series history: DPU leads 29-20.

GOLDEN EAGLES BEGIN BIG EAST COMPETITION 1-0: MU kicked off its eighth season in the BIG EAST Conference with a sweep of Syracuse on Saturday, Sept. 22 as the Golden Eagles opened league play 1-0 for the second year in a row and the sixth time since joining the conference in 2005. The Golden Eagles were led by 12 kills from sophomore outside hitter Lindsey Gosh, while senior Holly Mertens added 10 for Marquette, which hit .301 (43 kills, 15 errors, 93 attacks) in the contest. Junior setter Elizabeth Koberstein paced MU's offense with 39 assists and was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll on Sept. 24.

Danielle Carlson - 2012 SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE: Senior middle hitter Danielle Carlson has been selected as a candidate for the 2012 Senior CLASS Award, honoring NCAA Division I women's volleyball. The candidate class of 30 will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in character, competition, the classroom and the community. For more information on Carlson's candidacy, go to http://bit.ly/DanieCLASS.

QUICK HITS/RECENT PROGRAM HISTORY:

• The Al McGuire Center will host the 2012 BIG EAST Women's Volleyball Championship on Nov. 16-18.
• Outside hitter Lindsey Gosh's 0.57 service aces per set rank first in the league and eighth in the nation, while setter Elizabeth Koberstein is third in the conference and 23rd nationally with 11.39 assists per set. MU leads the BIG EAST as a team in kills per set (14.09), hitting percentage (.256) and assists per set (12.98).
• The victory over No. 23 Michigan on Sept. 7 marks the highest-ranked opponent MU has ever defeated.
• 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.
• 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.

UP NEXT: Marquette welcomes Pittsburgh and USF to Milwaukee for a Friday-Sunday slate at the Al McGuire Center. The Golden Eagles will face the Panthers at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5 before hosting the Bulls at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Friday's contest is Marquette volleyball social media night, allowing @MarquetteVB's Twitter followers to print off a coupon for a free concession item. Sunday's match is 2-for-1 admission for all fans with a church bulletin, as well as MU's third camper reunion and post-match clinic of the season.

Marquette Golden Eagles Women's Volleyball

Printer-friendly format	Email this article