The Golden Eagles shook off a rough first set to roll through the next two and advance to play Creighton on Saturday.
For one set, for maybe about 70 points of volleyball in total, there was some drama as to who was coming out of the second semifinal at DJ Sokol Arena in Omaha. Host and #1 seed Creighton had already dispatched DePaul in the first semifinal, and they were waiting to find out who would face them on Saturday.
As things got going, that was clearly in doubt.
Neither Marquette nor Villanova could get a lead bigger than three points in the first set, and a combo block from Carsen Murray and Ella Foti pulled MU even with Villanova at 22. VU up, MU two in a row for a lead and holding the set point advantage, but they needed the next one to avoid extra points. They didn’t get it, as Cat Young and Ozzie Ozonoh blocked Jenna Reitsma, but it worked out for Marquette. Aubrey Hamilton is pretty dang good at this volleyball thing, and Yadhira Anchante set her perfectly for two powerful swings for the final two points of the set in a 26-24 hotly contested victory.
The start of the second set was more of the same. Teeter this way, totter that way, and all tied at nine each after Abby Harrell and Campbell McKinnon stuffed MU’s Ella Foti. After that, well, that’s when Marquette said, let’s stop fooling around.
Is it maybe that it took Marquette 70 points to figure out how to play without Hattie Bray, who was sitting out (but dressed to play) after taking on an ankle injury in the regular season finale against DePaul? Definitely seems possible.
After that 9-9 tie in the second set, Marquette outscored Villanova 41-21 for the 3-0 sweep victory. It was 16-5 Golden Eagles the rest of the way in the second set, as they ended up outhitting Villanova .279 to .041 in the frame. In the third set, Marquette got up 6-3 early and just kept pressing their advantage. Yes, Villanova hit .304 in the third set, a number that probably wins you a lot of volleyball sets in a lot of places all around the country. One place it does not win you a set is in DJ Sokol Arena on Friday night, as Marquette put down 18 kills on 30 swings with just two errors. That’s .533 hitting, and have fun beating this Marquette team when they’re doing that to you. 25-16, and it wasn’t that close. MU led 19-9 late.
Aubrey Hamilton made sure there was no doubt tonight, as she had 18 kills and hit .405. She was the only one in double digits, but Morgan Daugherty, getting the start in place of Hattie Bray, put up nine kills on 15 error free swings. Maybe MU suffered a little bit by having Daugherty instead of Bray just because of continuity and rhythm reasons, but Daugherty was definitely holding up her end of the deal at the net. Yadhira Anchante was on one as well, coming just one assist short of averaging 15 per set.
How about some highlights, courtesy of GoMarquette.com and FloSports?
Up Next: The Golden Eagles will be back in action on Saturday as they take their third crack of the season at Creighton. The #5 team in the country beat DePaul in straight sets in Friday’s first semifinal to remain undefeated against any Big East competition this season. First serve is scheduled for 5pm Central time, and FS2 will have the broadcast. Very nicely timed by the league, as that allows Marquette fans enough time to get out of Fiserv Forum after the Western Carolina basketball game and get in front of a TV.