In basketball, having a dominant inside presence is one of the greatest assets a team can have. Not only will dominant post players put points up and clean house on the boards, but they will make defenses collapse to honestly defend them, which opens the floor for the outside shooters.
Volleyball is eerily similar in this regard. When teams possess a middle hitter that can put the ball down at will, it makes the opposing middle player stay honest and even causes outside blockers to draw in to help contain. This leaves holes all over the court that outside and right side hitters can exploit at will.
The Marquette women’s volleyball team (18-7, 8-2 Big East) doesn’t have one dominating middle hitter.
It has two.
Senior Rabbecka Gonyo and sophomore Kelsey Mattai have become an instrumental part of the Golden Eagles’ current success, winning 11 straight matches, including Tuesday night’s sweep of Illinois-Chicago (12-15, 7-7 Horizon League).
Gonyo is not just dominating though, she is the most efficient middle hitter in the country, leading the NCAA with a .441 hitting percentage. She was ruthless again against the Flames, downing 10 kills in only 16 attempts for a .625 hitting percentage.
“The key is to not make errors,” Gonyo said. “I just swing to terminate.”
Her presence in the middle has been steady all season, playing in every set of every match. She is on pace to obliterate Marquette’s single season (.357) and career record (.282) for hitting percentage. For her career at Marquette Gonyo has hit .287.
Mattai, on the other hand, has been a revelation as of late. While she played in 23 matches in 2009, an injury delayed her season debut this year until Oct. 13, when she recorded four kills against Wisconsin-Green Bay. It took her a while to catch her groove, notching only 12 kills in 11 sets prior to Tuesday night, her coming out party.
The Minnesota native opened the match with three kills to score three of Marquette’s first five points and didn’t stop there. She finished with 10 kills in only 12 attacks for an outrageous .833 hitting percentage and even added five blocks.
“It was hard to get started coming back from my injury,” Mattai said. “But my hand feels good, and I’m just excited to get it.”
Against Illinois-Chicago, the lights-out play from the middle hitters helped open the court for junior outside hitter Ciara Jones, especially in the second set. After facing two blockers for much of the first set, Jones wound up hitting against a solo blocker much of the time in the second stanza, as the Flames adjusted to try and contain Gonyo and Mattai.
Jones tallied six kills that frame and finished with 11 for the match. The victory was Marquette’s 11th straight, setting a new Division I program record.
The Golden Eagles now take a road trip to New Jersey to face Rutgers (10-14, 2-8 Big East) on Saturday and Seton Hall (11-15, 5-5 Big East) on Sunday.
Two road victories will leave Marquette with a two game home stand against Cincinnati and Louisville, the Big East’s top two teams, and the opportunity to win the Big East if it takes both games.
“There will be crazy things that happen between now and the end,” Shymasnky said. “We could lose out, we could win out — there’s a billion different ways we could go. I think the reality is that we control our destiny. As long as we keep winning, we have a chance to be the one seed.”
