Marquette volleyball secured its fourth consecutive sweep of a BIG EAST opponent, defeating the DePaul Blue Demons (25-14, 27-25, 25-14) Saturday in Chicago.
In the first set, Marquette took the lead early and never relinquished it, eventually winning 25-14. Redshirt senior Jenna Rosenthal and sophomore Hope Werch led the way for the Golden Eagles with four kills each, and junior setter Lauren Speckman put up six assists in the frame.
Marquette hit a combined 0.385 in that set while holding the Blue Demons to just an 0.086 clip.
The second set was a bit rockier for Marquette, as the Golden Eagles fell behind 11-9 early. Following a timeout from head coach Ryan Theis, the Golden Eagles regained their footing and tied the score. With the score knotted up at 25-25, sophomore setter Sarah Rose came in with two critical serves, forcing an attack error to give her squad the lead. She then secured the 27-25 win with a service ace.
By the end of the frame, the Marquette offense was spreading the wealth quite effectively. Jenna Rosenthal and junior outside hitter and BIG EAST kill leader Allie Barber had seven kills.
Marquette dominated the third set from the opening serve. The Golden Eagles had an 11-point lead and eventually took the set 25-14.
Rosenthal finished with 11 kills, and Barber added 10 kills. Speckman had a match-high 21 assists on the day, and Rose added 14. Sophomore libero Martha Konovodoff had 16 digs on the day, the match high.
For the Blue Demons (4-13, 2-4 BIG EAST), Donna Brown had a team-high 11 kills and hit at a 0.556 clip. Teammate Avarie Evans-Allen had seven kills and a hitting percentage of 0.583. Setter Natalie Hayward led the squad with 17 assists, and Katie Dolan added 15 of her own.
The No. 19 Golden Eagles (14-4, 5-1 BIG EAST) will return to the Al McGuire Center Wednesday to take on the Butler Bulldogs in another BIG EAST matchup. The game is slated for 6 p.m. Central time.
