The Marquette women’s volleyball team did what it had to in order to keep its playoff hopes alive, taking down a winless DePaul team in three sets (25-13, 25-10, 25-12).
Marquette’s crisp passing was the key to the match as it allowed the Golden Eagles to run a very quick, middle based offense.
“You know, our whole team played really well today. It was good serving, good passing, good blocking and good defense,” coach Bond Shymansky said. “It just looked like really balanced volleyball. I was proud of our group today.”
The three Marquette middles combined to torch the Blue Demons for 21 kills and also added seven blocks. Junior Rabbecka Gonyo led with 10 kills while freshmen Kelsey Mattai and Carol Henney added seven and four kills respectively.
“It’s so easy after a loss to just come out flat and just kind of question yourselves a little bit but we came out with fire and showed a lot of pride.” Shymansky said said.
Ashley Beyer once again had a match high in kills with 15 and only committed one hitting error in the process for an impressive .438 hitting percentage.
A trio of Marquette newcomers stole the show in the first set. Ashley Beyer smashed six kills as freshmen Danielle Carlson and Mattai each put down three kills of their own. With the score tied at three Marquette took the next three points and never looked back, winning the set 25-13. Mattai added three blocks in the first frame.
“(The key) was getting up quick, having a high elbow, and coming through with my arm,” Mattai said. “I was just up and ready for the ball”
The second set saw more dominating play from the Golden Eagles. After DePaul tied the match at five, Marquette would go on a 20-5 run to close out the Blue Demons. Gonyo made her presence felt putting down an impressive seven kills in the second set. The quick passes to the junior did not allow DePaul to set up defensively, an advantage exploited by Gonyo.
DePaul won the first two points in the third set, but the talent was not up to par with the intensity. Gonyo once again was able to hit right through the blocks to help Marquette build a 14-7 lead. Henney came into the match and was also able to continue Gonyo’s torrid pace racking up four kills in only 15 points played.
Henney said a good week of practiced helped build her confidence for today’s match. “Confidence is so important playing sports and I think that really helped a lot,” Henney said.
The victory keeps Marquette’s slim hopes of a Big East tournament bid alive. It will have to take care of business at home against Villanova and await results from the around the Big East as well.
