No. 16 Marquette (16-2, 7-1 East) went into the Cintas Center to take on Xavier (11-7, 4-4 Big East) Sunday afternoon looking to re-enter the win column following its first Big East loss of the season Friday at No. 21 Creighton.
And the Golden Eagles did just that, sweeping the Musketeers (28-26, 25-22, 25-13).
“It was a slow start but a great effort by most to pull off the first,” Marquette head coach Ryan Theis said in a statement. “Jenna’s points and point run from the service line really got us that game. From there I think everyone else started chipping in more and more throughout the match and it became a balanced effort.”
The first set was back and forth between both sides, until late in the set when Xavier went on a 3-0 run to reach set point 24-20. Marquette stormed back going on an 8-2 run to take the set 28-26.
Marquette hit .268 in the set while Xavier hit .178.
Xavier went on an early 5-0 run in the second set to take a 6-3 lead but Marquette responded shortly after with an 8-0 run to take a 14-9 lead. The Musketeers made a late push but it wouldn’t be enough as the Golden Eagles took the set 25-22.
Much like the first set, the third and final set started out close. Following gaining a 15-9 lead, Marquette continued applying pressure on Xavier to cruising its way to a clean sweep win taking the frame 25-13.
As a team Marquette hit .331 and Xavier hit .158.
Sophomore outside hitter Jenna Reitsma led the Golden Eagles with 13 kills, 12 digs and four aces.
Junior outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton added 12 kills and nine digs while sophomore setter Yadhira Anchante had four kills, 38 assists and five digs.
Marquette will return home for its next match against Seton Hall Friday at 7 p.m. CST in the Al McGuire Center.
This story was written by Ben Schultz. He can be reached at b[email protected] or on Twitter @benschultz52.
