The last time No. 24 Marquette volleyball got swept in back-to-back games inside the Al McGuire Center was in 2021. Until today.
The Golden Eagles (2-5) continued their losing streak against ranked opponents after falling 3-0 (19-25, 22-25, 22-25) to the No. 18 Tennessee Volunteers (7-1) Sunday afternoon.
“I don’t think we served particularly well and consequently did not defend very well,” Marquette head coach Ryan Theis said.
Statistical leaders
Senior outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton led Marquette with 14 kills on 33 attacks, hitting .273. Junior setter Yadhira Anchante finished with 25 assists.
For Tennessee, graduate student right-side Morgahn Fingall ended with a match-high 18 kills and hit .471.
“She had 22 Friday night and she’s a load,” Theis said. “She’s a terrific player and she’s going to score a whole lot of points for them all year.”
Graduate student outside hitter Jenaisya Moore was right behind her with 15 kills on 27 attacks. Volunteer redshirt first-year setter Caroline Kerr ended with 48 assists, almost double Anchante’s total.
Overpowered on offense
Marquette’s offense against Pitt was shaky, hitting poorly from start to finish and not putting together runs.
Today was a different story, as the Golden Eagles were able to hit a season-high .247 and consistently looked as though they could come back at a moment’s notice.
But if Marquette was good offensively, Tennessee was great.
The Volunteers finished with 22 more assists than the Golden Eagles and did not hit worse in a single set, finishing with a percentage of .438. In the first frame, Tennessee hit .528 and in the third they hit .433.
“If we could serve a little bit better, keep them out of perfect a little bit more,” Theis said about slowing down Tennessee’s offense. “The defense gets a little easier.”
Marquette only had one player, Hamilton, get over 10 kills while Tennessee had two with Fingall and Moore. After Hamilton, the next highest kill number for a Golden Eagle was junior outside hitter Jenna Reitsma with six.
Giving up runs
Marquette gave up at least a 3-0 run in every set.
In the opening frame, there were three occasions where the Volunteers earned three points in a row, one of which was the final three points they scored to win the set 25-19.
In the second set, Marquette was leading 10-7 after a kill from junior middle-blocker Hattie Bray. But Tennessee responded with a 4-0 run to take the lead and not look back, winning 25-22.
The final set was more of the same as the Volunteers put together a 5-0 run to get out to an early 8-3 lead. Marquette was able to close the gap to a couple points, but it was not enough as Tennessee won the frame and match.
Up next
Marquette plays No. 1 Wisconsin (7-0) Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum. The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. CST. It is the first-ever volleyball game at Fiserv.
“We’re going to try and take every opportunity to give our fans a good show,” Theis said.
This story was written by Jack Albright. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @JackAlbrightMU.
