The last time the Marquette volleyball team lost a match to the UW-Milwaukee Panthers, George W. Bush was still in office and the first iPhone had been released just months earlier.
Since 2007, the Golden Eagles have won nine straight against their crosstown rivals, including a 25-20, 25-13, 25-18 victory at the Al McGuire Center Monday night.
“I thought we’ve gotten a lot better in the last two weeks,” said Marquette head coach Ryan Theis.
Theis’ team made life difficult for the Panthers’ offense, holding them to a .097 hitting percentage and forcing 21 errors on 124 swings. Only one of the five UWM players that had more than ten attempts posted a hitting percentage over .200. Marquette also had 65 digs on the defensive end, compared to just 44 for UWM.
Those defensive numbers were largely due to the efforts of junior libero Lauren Houg. The Plymouth, Minnesota native put in a stellar performance, notching a season-high 24 digs, her highest total since November 28 of last season. She also surpassed 1,000 career digs, becoming only the eighth player to do so in program history.
“[The record] is really important to me, but I wouldn’t be here without my teammates,” Houg humbly said.
The Golden Eagles were led on offense by freshman Taylor Louis, who notched 14 kills, while the team hit .318 on the attack. With the win, Marquette also extended its straight-sets streak against UWM to 12; the Golden Eagles have not lost a set against the Panthers since 2012.
The victory capped off a perfect 5-0 homestand for Marquette, which has not lost a match at home since its first match of BIG EAST play against Xavier. Marquette now stands at 17-7 on the season, while its conference record remains 8-3. The Golden Eagles will look to improve on both of those marks when they face off against the DePaul Blue Demons on Saturday night in Chicago.
