Nov. 13, 2009

Match Notes | Weekly Podcast

MILWAUKEE - The Marquette University women's volleyball team will host its final BIG EAST match of the season Sunday against Villanova at 1 p.m., at the Al McGuire Center. Team captain Hailey Viola will be honored in an on-court pre-match ceremony recognizing the senior's career at Marquette, while the first Marquette volleyball team (1975) will be honored as well.

Hailey Viola's Day

Marquette will honor the squad's lone senior, libero and team captain Hailey Viola, in a pre-match ceremony Sunday afternoon. Viola (933 career digs) is four digs short of the 10th spot on the all-time Marquette list.

Alumni Weekend

In honor of Marquette University's Alumni Weekend and the Centennial Celebration of Women at Marquette, the team will welcome the first volleyball team in school history (1975) and all its alumni to the match. The 1975 squad will be honored between sets one and two and during the intermission between sets two and three, all volleyball alumni in attendance will be recognized.

BIG EAST Tournament Chances

Before they play Sunday afternoon, the Golden Eagles will know if they still have a shot at the BIG EAST Conference Tournament, depending on the outcome of some key Friday and Saturday match-ups within the league.

MU will not end with a better conference record than the four teams vying for the final spot in the tournament so the squad will need some help. If there are more than two teams competing for the final spot, the remaining teams turn into a "mini-conference." 

For Marquette to win the mini-conference, it would need the following to take place over the weekend (West Virginia needs to drop both matches):

Fri.
Villanova def. Syracuse
Pittsburgh def. Seton Hall

Sat.
Rutgers def. West Virginia

Sun.
Marquette def. Villanova
Seton Hall def. West Virginia

Marquette (Mini-Conf. Record: 1-1)
Villanova (Mini-Conf. Record: 1-1)
Seton Hall (Mini-Conf. Record: 1-1) 

If those events were to take place, Villanova, Seton Hall and Marquette would all go into a mini-conference and it would come down to records against each other. If their records are all equal it would come down to set winning percentage within the league and that is where Marquette would have the edge.

Golden Eagles Nearing Statistical Milestones

With the statistical output shown by this year's squad, many Golden Eagles are climbing their way up the season and career-leader lists at Marquette. 

Junior middle hitter Rabbecka Gonyo's efficient hitting and blocking are helping her climb up both the career and season charts. Gonyo is currently having the second-best season, from a hitting percentage (.342, 237-67-497) standpoint in school history. She needs three more attacks to qualify for that list. Gonyo has also moved her way up the career list in hitting percentage (.256, 636-242-1,541) to sit fourth and is fifth in school history in assisted blocks (267).

Junior Nikki Klingsporn is currently No. 8 on the single season list with 1,165 assists.

Opponent:
Villanova (16-11/5-7 BIG EAST) comes to Milwaukee after playing at Syracuse Friday evening. The Wildcats are led in the back row by sophomore Kim Maroon who set the Villanova single season digs record earlier this season. Maroon has recorded a total of 641 digs this season and leads the BIG EAST with an average of 6.05 per set. Maroon also leads the BIG EAST with 60 service aces on the season. VU is led up front by another sophomore in middle blocker Maggie Mergen, who has recorded 330 kills (3.17/set) in 2009.

Last Meeting: MU def. VU 3-2 (Nov. 8, 2008)
Series Record: MU leads 3-1
Stats: GameTracker, Audio: WMUR