After a nine-day, seven-game road trip that took the Marquette women’s volleyball team through Iowa and Nebraska, coach Bond Shymansky and the Golden Eagles will be back on their home floor for the first time this season when they host the Marquette/Milwaukee Invitational.
Marquette faces Southern Mississippi and Akron on Friday before making a short trip to Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the other site for the invitational, for a Saturday night showdown. The Golden Eagles will finish the tournament with a Tuesday evening match against Wisconsin-Green Bay.
“I think it gets them jacked up, but in a good way,” Shymansky said of his players getting to play at home. “And that’s to our benefit. They’re excited to come home and play in our own gym in front of a home crowd with families, friends and students.”
Freshman setter Chelsea Heier said she welcomes the upcoming home games as well.
“It will be easier for us because we know the court, and we won’t be as tired from traveling,” she said. “And to have our own fans there will help us as well.”
The Golden Eagles will begin an eight-game home stand (outside of the short trip to face the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers) that will keep them in Milwaukee until Sept. 29, when they travel to Sacred Heart before beginning their Big East schedule. The home stand is sure to be a boost for the Golden Eagles, who were 9-2 at the Al McGuire Center a year ago.
A familiar opponent will be the Panthers, who the Golden Eagles swept last year thanks to 18 kills from current senior outside hitter Ciara Jones. Shymansky said the rivalry match will be an important one for his team.
“There’s always something a little extra in that match,” he said. “We are now two teams that know and understand each other very well, and that can make for a very tough match at times.”
The Panthers hold a 46-25-1 record all-time against Marquette.
The Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles will also provide a test for Shymansky’s group. Picked to finish second in Conference USA, the other Golden Eagles feature an impressive, experienced front row in junior outside hitter Halie Ecker and senior middle blocker Lauren Sears.
Shymansky’s group, however, will begin the home stand with some momentum after his squad picked up two wins (over South Dakota and Creighton) last weekend in the Bluejay Invitational.
Along with the weekend’s superb play from Jones (46 kills) and the reigning Big East Freshman of the Week, setter Chelsea Heier (13.63 assists per set), sophomore right side hitter Courtney Mrotek had a career-best weekend in Omaha, racking up 31 kills in three matches and finishing with a .349 hit percentage.
There was uncertainty as to who would fill the void at right side hitter left by junior Dani Carlson, who moved to middle hitter, but those questions have been answered early in the season.
“It’s a different dynamic and it leaves our offenses to have everyone one-on-one, and that’s starting to happen,” Jones said. “You still have these other options who are going to put the ball away so it’s really nice.”
Redshirt junior right side hitter Holly Mertens and senior outside hitter Ashley Beyer have each dealt with ankle injuries early on that can be attributed to Marquette’s .241 hitting percentage, but Beyer showed improvement this past weekend and is inching closer to full strength.