The last time the Marquette women’s volleyball team hosted the Big East Championship tournament, it watched from the stands as the St. John’s Red Storm were crowned champions. Four year later, the Golden Eagles will take their home court with a chance to win their first ever Big East title.
For the second straight season, coach Bond Shymansky’s group set a program record for conference wins. A year ago the Golden Eagles were 11-3, and in 2011 their 12-2 record has earned them their second consecutive No. 3 seed in the tournament.
Shymansky said playing at the Al McGuire Center, where the Golden Eagles are 11-1 this season, will be an advantage because of the familiarity in preparing for the matchup.
“You’re ready to go,” Shymansky said. “You know where everything needs to be to get yourself prepared as an individual athlete and for us as a staff, too. So now we’re in that hurry up and wait mode where we’re waiting for teams to show up so we can play, and we’re really excited for it.”
They will meet Seton Hall (17-12, 8-6 Big East) in the quarterfinals of the eight-team tournament in a rematch of the team’s Oct. 21 matchup. Marquette rallied from down 2-0 to win the match in five sets.
The two teams have played competitive and borderline “chippy” matches the last two seasons, something senior outside hitter Ciara Jones said should only add to the intensity of the match.
Freshman setter Chelsea Heier said the matchup against the Pirates will elevate Marquette’s game.
“I think Seton Hall just brings out the best in us,” Heier said. “And I think we do that to them as well, so that’s where the craziness comes from. We both just want to beat each other. We like to compete against them.”
Marquette blockers will need to be aware of outside hitter Meghan Matusiak, who ranks second in the Big East with 3.81 kills per set. She finished with a team-high 16 kills in the loss.
Senior outside hitter Ashley Beyer has had success against the Pirates, averaging 18.3 kills and nine digs in three career contests.
Should the Golden Eagles advance, they would take on the winner of No. 2 Cincinnati and No. 7 Villanova.
The path to Marquette’s first ever Big East championship could go through Louisville. The top-seeded Cardinals have won the previous three Big East Championship tournaments and four of the last five. They seem to be primed for a fourth straight title, as junior outside hitter Lola Arslanbekova led the Big East with 494 kills and 4.94 kills per set.
A win Friday would substantially help Marquette’s chances of making its first-ever NCAA Tournament. The team’s No. 40 RPI, and a year ago the cutoff for at-large teams making the NCAA Tournament was No. 46.
The possibility of an NCAA Tournament berth is in the back of the players’ minds, but Jones said the team knows what it needs to do to make that a reality.
“Bond always has that in the back of our head,” Jones said of the post-season possibility. “It’s definitely something we’re looking at, but in order to do that we have to beat Seton Hall.”