The No. 25 Marquette Golden Eagles fell short in the fifth set to No. 19 Creighton on Friday night at the D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha, Nebraska.
Marquette was slow to start, as Creighton was able to score 12 unanswered points. Despite a block from senior outside hitter Kaitlyn Lines and an ace from senior outside hitter Hope Werch, the Golden Eagles were unable to cut the early lead and eventually lost the set 25-13.
MU made some adjustments to begin the second set, however. They outscored the Bluejays 4-1. After a few back and forth volleys from both teams, Marquette was able to hedge a 19-10 lead, but CU did not back down their play attack. They forced their way back to within five after junior outside hitter Jaela Zimmerman disrupted MU’s defense. However, kills from University of Wisconsin-Green Bay transfer Taylor Wolf and transfer graduate student Savannah Rennie helped the Golden Eagles earn a 25-20 set win.
Both teams put up a fight in the third set, proving that no win was going to come easy. Wolf led the way for the Golden Eagles, slamming down big kills when they were needed most. The team’s defense was able to stay on their toes as well. A Wolf kill ended the competitive back and fourth set by a score of 25-23. Marquette would enter the fourth set up 2-1.
After a convincing lead early on thanks to big blocks from sophomore outside hitter Hannah Vanden Berg, Wolf and Rennie, the Bluejays battled their way back in the fourth set. For CU, Zimmerman came up with a block and sophomore middle blocker/right side hitter Kiana Schmitt posted a kill to help with constrictions, but a late game point by sophomore setter Ally Van Eekren is what secured a 25-23 Creighton win to force a final set.
In the fifth, Rennie helped the Golden Eagles out to a 5-4 lead and they were able to score two more consecutive points before the Bluejays called a timeout to regroup. CU was then able to take the lead away from MU, but the Golden Eagles were able to put up a battle and tied the set at 11. However, Creighton was able to close the match after senior setter Mahina Pua’a scored back-to-back aces ending the game by a score of 15-11.
Despite MU’s loss, Wolf put up a triple-double with 12 kills, 12 digs and 16 assists. Werch followed with 10 kills and 12 digs, while Rennie added 10 kills, two assists and two digs.
For CU, Zimmerman had a double-double on the night with 19 kills and 15 digs along with two assists. Sophomore outside hitter Keeley Davis had 11 kills, 12 digs and three assists. Senior middle blocker/right side hitter Naomi Hickmann and Schmitt both added eight kills onto the night as well.
The Golden Eagles will have a rematch against the Bluejays tomorrow night in the D.J. Sokol Arena at 7 p.m. Central Standard Time.
This article was written by Molly Gretzlock. She can be reached at molly.gretzlock@marquette,edu or on Twitter @MollyGretzlock.
