Coming off a demoralizing loss to Xavier on Wednesday night, Marquette volleyball needed an easy victory to regain their footing. On Saturday night, the Golden Eagles got one.
Marquette picked up their first conference win of the year by defeating the DePaul Blue Demons in straight sets by a final score of 25-17, 25-17, 25-20. Marquette has now beaten the Blue Demons nine straight times.
“I thought we played really well and we played as a team,” said junior outside hitter Joy Miley. “We just came out and did what we had to do.”
The outcome of the game was never seriously questioned, as the Golden Eagles took a quick 7-3 lead and never relented. Marquette’s offense found success no matter what they did; Meghan Niemann tips, Joy Miley line shots and Taylor Louis blasts all found the floor. The Golden Eagles collectively hit .364 and no individual Marquette player hit below .290.
“I was happy that we came out and played better from the start,” Marquette head coach Ryan Theis said .
Miley and Louis tied for the team lead in kills with 11, and they each recorded nearly the same number of attack attempts (Louis had 30, Miley had 27). Entering tonight’s match, Louis had over two times as many attack attempts as Miley did. This could be a sign that Marquette is looking to take a more balanced approach on offense.
Junior setter Sara Blasier also played well, notching 34 assists and three block assists. Her aggressiveness on the block noticeably re-routed several of DePaul’s attacks.
Marquette moved to 9-5 on the season with the straight-sets victory. They next take on Butler on Wednesday at the Al McGuire Center.
