No. 11 Marquette beat the St. John’s Red Storm in four sets (25-23, 28-26, 23-25, 25-15) Friday night, dropping just its sixth set of BIG EAST play.
After nine lead changes and 10 ties in the first set, Marquette won six of the last 10 points for a 25-23 victory.
The Golden Eagles seemed like a completely different team in the second frame, getting out to a dominant 7-2 lead. Though MU kept that advantage for most of the set, St. John’s used a 9-2 run to tie it at 19-19. Marquette fought off three set points to win the set 28-26.
Similarly to the opening set, the third frame had more back-and-forth action. St. John’s had an early 7-4 lead, but MU stormed back to regain a 17-14 advantage. However, the Red Storm edged out the Golden Eagles in the third, 25-23. While Marquette had 15 total kills in the third, St. John’s Efrosini Alexakou recorded 10 of her team’s 18 kills to secure the set victory.
In the fourth set, the Golden Eagles held the Red Storm to a -0.044 clip, their worst of the match. Meanwhile, MU was virtually unstoppable with 11 kills, four blocks and two service aces. Marquette claimed an early 6-1 lead and never relinquished it en route to a 25-15 win.
For the Golden Eagles, Allie Barber led the Golden Eagles with 18 kills while Hope Werch finished with a double-double of 15 kills and 12 digs. Ellie Koontz led all Marquette hitters with a team-best 0.381 clip. Alexakou led the Red Storm with a match-high 19 kills. Di Maulo dished out a game-high 44 assists, and Amanda Sanabia added a team-high 17 digs and two aces.
No. 10 Marquette (18-3, 8-1 BIG EAST) has a quick turnaround, facing Seton Hall Saturday at 4 p.m. Central Standard Time in South Orange, New Jersey.
