After the first set, Marquette volleyball needed to respond.

The Golden Eagles had lost their first set in conference play to the UConn Huskies after giving up an early 6-1 run.

But Marquette gathered its bearings and fought back, winning three straight sets to beat UConn 3-1 (19-25, 25-11, 25-13, 25-22) Saturday afternoon.

Statistical leaders

Senior outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton led Marquette with 13 kills, hitting .400. Junior outside hitter Jenna Reitsma and junior right side Ella Foti both finished with near double-doubles. Reitsma had 10 kills and nine digs while Foti had nine kills and 11 digs.

For UConn, graduate student outside hitter Cera Powell finished with a team-high 13 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Emma Werkmeister ended with 12 kills.

Getting back on track

After the opening set defeat, Marquette turned it around and started playing like the reigning Big East champions again.

In the second frame, the Golden Eagles took a 14-8 lead and forced the Huskies to use their final timeout of the set. But after each coach talked to their teams, Marquette kept its foot on the gas, piecing together an 11-3 run to win the set 25-11.

After the second frame victory, Marquette kept the ball rolling, winning the third set 25-13 on an 8-1 run.

Across both frames, the Golden Eagles hit .253 and the Huskies hit -.005.

Finishing the job

The second and third sets were blowouts, but UConn showed some fight in the fourth frame to make it a close finish.

The Huskies had just pieced together a 3-0 run to cut the Golden Eagles’ lead to 24-22.

But Marquette, needing only one point to win the match, got the win after junior middle blocker Hattie Bray got her fifth block of the match, giving the Golden Eagles a 25-22 set victory.

Up next

Marquette has a short turnaround time as it travels to face Providence (6-9, 0-3 Big East) Sunday afternoon at 12 p.m. CST. The Friars got swept 0-3 by the DePaul Blue Demons Saturday.