This will not be an average home game for the Marquette women’s volleyball team. With fans screaming and music blaring, the capacity crowd at the Al McGuire Center is sure to have the place rocking as the Golden Eagles look to take another step towards making the Big East Championships when they face Georgetown Friday night.
The marketing department organized this year’s Marquette Madness, which packs the Al with 4,000 fans year after year, to coincide with the volleyball match against the Hoyas. Doors will open at 5 p.m. for the 6 p.m. volleyball match with Marquette Madness to follow.
“For the Georgetown match, what we are expecting most is to play in front of a great crowd at the Al McGuire Center,” coach Bond Shymansky said. “Our team is really excited for the opportunity and for our program. I think it’s a good chance to see and be seen by the Marquette faithful.”
Marquette has had a total of 3,014 people attend its home games this year, averaging 431 people per game, but Friday’s match alone will most likely double that number.
“I’m a little nervous, but I think it will be more exciting than nerve-wracking,” redshirt freshman Holly Mertens said. “I think it will be a lot of fun, and playing with that many people is going to be great.”
The home court advantage will be very important for a team that lives and dies by its energy levels.
“We’re a very energetic team and when we’re energetic and play alive we’re good,” sophomore Ashley Beyer said. “When we don’t have that energy we struggle a lot.”
The energy factor played a key role in Marquette’s first road victory in Big East play last Sunday against St. John’s.
“At St. John’s, we just had to keep our energy up to win the game and that’s what we did,” Beyer said.
At this point in the season, the Golden Eagles will need all the energy they can get. Sitting in 10th place at 2-4 in the Big East, Marquette has eight games remaining and jump at least two spots and get into the Big East tournament, where only the top eight teams are invited.
“The thing we have to do first and foremost is defend our home court,” Shymansky said. “We only have one road trip left, so I think we have a distinct advantage against some other teams that could be in that same race as we are to get into the top eight.”
Defending the home court will include taking on the Hoyas and South Florida this weekend. Georgetown is 11-11 (1-5 Big East) while the Bulls, one of the teams the Golden Eagles are chasing down, stand at 10-5 (3-2 Big East).
“Georgetown is a team that has some young players. They have some good balance, but they are very up and down right now like we are, so we could get anything from them,” Shymansky said. “I think it’s about us keeping our composure and keeping our energy levels high.”
