It can be called a tale of two ankles.
On Aug. 29, senior outside hitter Ashley Beyer amassed a negative hitting percentage against Northern Iowa after downing only four kills and committing six errors.
Flash forward to Sept. 12 and Beyer was not only named the Most Valuable Player of the Marquette/Milwaukee Invitational but was also tagged as the Big East Player of the Week for only the second time in her career.
The biggest difference in her game has nothing to do with her talent increasing but instead can be pinned down to an injured ankle that hampered her in the opening weeks. Although she acknowledges she is still not fully healthy, Beyer said it isn’t that big of a deal now as it was before.
“I’m not 100 percent,” Beyer said, “but that isn’t something I think about when I’m out on the court.”
The accolades came after the Marquette women’s volleyball team (7-3) swept through Southern Mississippi, Akron and Wisconsin-Milwaukee in straight sets on its way to the Marquette/Milwaukee Invitational crown.
“That was a great weekend for us,” coach Bond Shymansky told GoMarquette.com, “watching our team assert themselves playing really great volleyball.”
Shymansky was particularly impressed with the play of freshman setter Chelsea Heier.
“She can really feel her hitters now,” he told the website. “Early on in the season she was setting the ball to a location. Now I really see her setting her hitters, and the offense just looks great.”
Beyer was one of the beneficiaries of Heier’s improved play. Beyer averaged 4.22 kills per set, reaching double digit kills in every match for a total of 38 for the weekend.
While Beyer’s offensive proficiency is important to Marquette, her defensive presence might be even more valuable. The senior averaged 2.3 digs per set, notching a season high 13 against Southern Mississippi.
Defensively, Marquette’s frontline played a crucial role in controlling the matches. Junior middle hitter Danielle Carlson led the way recording nine blocks assists, while the Golden Eagles posted 24.5 total blocks.
On top of outright blocks, the Golden Eagles did a good job getting their hands on opponents’ hits, slowing them down and making them easier to dig out in the back. This helped the Golden Eagles hold opponents’ hitting percentages under .160 in every match of the weekend.
Beyer credited increased preparation for the better blocking numbers. She said by executing what the coaches have preached, they have been able to take out the bigger hitters and as a result have had a much more imposing defensive presence.
While the senior is happy with her latest accolades, Beyer isn’t dwelling on them.
“It’s a great individual honor, but it will only make me work harder week in and week out in practice to keep helping my team,” Beyer said.
