Peaks and valleys are the norm for a typical season. The longer the peak and the shorter the valley typically means a team has had a successful season. Sunday, the volleyball team dug themselves out of an extended valley after their win over Connecticut.

Going into the match, the team had lost three of its last four matches versus Big East opponents. But Marquette defeated UConn in four games.

Thanks to a nine-point lead in game one, the Golden Eagles worked towards a 30-21 victory. After the Golden Eagles scored the first five points of the second game, the momentum abruptly shitfted and the Huskies won 30-25.

Games three and four tested both the patience and will of the Golden Eagles as the team won both games by going past the 30-point mark.

The team won 31-29 in game three and took the fourth 34-32.

Junior outside hitter Jamie Mueller finished the match with 16 kills while sophomore outside hitter Kimberley Todd finished with 14. Mueller also had 15 digs to go along with her 16 kills.

Marquette lost its Saturday match versus St. John's 3-1. Losing the first two games in extra points, the team rebounded by winning the third game 32-30 before losing the final game 30-21.

"I think we took a step up in the St. John's game because we played with a lot of heart, enthusiasm and energy," Mueller said. "We just made errors at the wrong time, and they took advantage of them."

The match proved to be a statistical draw for the most part with both teams being very close in terms of hitting percentage and team blocks, but it was St. John's who earned the win in four matches.

"I would say we played with a better personality this weekend," said head coach Pati Rolf. "We are still making mistakes but our energy level was really there this weekend. Even though we had a significant number of errors, we did a great job of staying focused and positive, especially on Sunday."

This weekend, the Golden Eagles enter interesting territory with two home matches on the schedule with Villanova on Friday night and Rutgers on Sunday afternoon. The team will go into the weekend with a 4-5 conference record, trailing both teams in the Big East standings. Villanova sits in conference with a 6-2 record and Rutgers is 4-4.

Two wins this weekend could equal a jump in the conference standings for the Golden Eagles.

"I think we will have a lot of energy at home this weekend," Mueller said. "We want to move up in terms of our tournament spot, and we can do that this weekend with wins."

This weekend marks the team's last two-game conference home stand, and the two teams staring them in the face will not go down easily.

"We are at the end of the battle and I hope the girls get the idea that winning and competing is fun," Rolf said. "Hopefully they are becoming competitive and they want to get into the conference tournament. These are two strong teams this weekend, and in order to win, we cannot screw around."

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 25, 2005.