Marquette women’s volleyball got back to their winning ways by beating Villanova 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-16) and Georgetown 3-1 (16-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-18) this weekend.
It was a historic night Friday for Taylor Louis, as she recorded her 1,000th kill. She is the second sophomore in Marquette history to accomplish the feat. Currently, Theresa Coughlin (2002-’05) holds the Marquette record for kills in a career with 1,733.
“Very happy for Taylor,” Marquette head coach Ryan Theis said. “To get to a 1,000 this quickly is quite meaningful. I don’t know the overall record, but I got to think she will be able to make a run at the all-time kill record.”
The Golden Eagles got off to a slow start against Villanova. The Wildcats jumped out to a 13-11 lead before Marquette came back on a 7-2 run and eventually took the set 25-21.
In the second set, Marquette grabbed an early 2-1 lead and never gave the lead up after that, winning the set 25-20.
A 6-2 run in the third set gave Marquette a 19-10 advantage. The Golden Eagles went on to close out the set 25-16 with back-to-back kills from Meghan Niemann and Allie Barber.
Louis led the way against the Wildcats with 15 kills, while Jenna Rosenthal posted a .500 hitting percentage and nine kills and Meghan Niemann hit .538 with seven kills.
“I thought we were balanced,” Theis said. “They bring a lot of service pressure. I thought our passers did a good job handling that.”
Marquette got off to a slow start once again Saturday against Georgetown. The Golden Eagles started the first set on a 7-4 run, but Georgetown was able to create a 17-11 lead that helped them finish off the set 25-16.
“I thought Georgetown played well to start, but we did make a ton of unforced errors. We had I think 12 unforced in the first game,” said Theis. “You can’t give away that many points, especially on the road.”
Two aces from Manon Geoffroy in the second set helped Marquette climb out of a 5-2 hole and take an 11-9 lead. The Golden Eagles went on to win the set 25-18.
Following an 11-5 run, the Golden Eagles seemed to be in control of the third set with the score 21-15 in favor of Marquette. However, following a timeout, the Hoyas went on a run of their own to make the score 23-21, still in favor of Marquette. The Golden Eagles would finish off the set 25-21 with a kill from Allie Barber and a Georgetown error.
Marquette opened the fourth set with five unanswered points. They used that momentum to gain an 18-8 lead. Georgetown kept things interesting, but Marquette was able to secure the set and the match 25-18.
The Golden Eagles start a three-match home stand next Saturday at 6 p.m. when DePaul visits the Al.
