Some notes after Marquette volleyball’s (7-6, 3-1) 1-1 week:

Murray’s efficiency sky-high

Carsen Murray has been hitting the ball as efficiently as ever.

Her .406 season-hitting percentage leads both Marquette and the entire Big East, and she is the only player in the conference to be swinging above .400. Nationally, Murray is No. 27 in the NCAA Division I women’s volleyball hitting percentage rankings.

“I think a lot of it is understanding how the defense lines up,” she said. “And one thing I’ve been working on is getting up in transition, because that gives me double the opportunities to be able to get swings. And I feel like that’s been a factor in being more productive this whole year.”

In 13 games this season, the middle blocker has hit over .600 more times (three) than she’s hit under .300 (two).

Her first full season at Marquette, 2021, she finished the year hitting .336. In 2022, she leapfrogged to .416 before going down to .374 in her senior season.

Now as a graduate student, Murray is finding her swing again.

“I think so,” Murray said about if her experience has helped her turn hits into kills. “Getting up in transition and knowing to get off and be an option is definitely something that takes a lot of practice, especially at this level with the speed of the offense and defense.

“Balls are coming quick, and a lot of times the hardest thing is, like, you max jump for a block, but then having the power to get off and then max jump again (for a hit). So that’s been something that we’ve really been working on.”

At 6-foot-4, Murray’s height gives her an advantage of executing many different types of hits.

“Her range above the net. The variety of ways she can score, whether it’s a good tip, a severe angle in front of the center, a ball down in front of left back,” head coach Ryan Theis said. “Her height above the net is what makes it special and tough to stop.”

Emphasizing right place, right time

The Golden Eagles have prioritized blocking location over blocking height.

“We always talk about low, quick hands,” Murray said. “So just being up and being over and having our hands in good spots, versus trying to be as high as we can be.

“Because a lot of the times, teams are hitting pretty low, and anytime we can get our hands in those spots you know that if it goes past this that should be in a digger spot.”

The work has paid off, as they sit 2nd in the Big East in blocks (33 total, 2.54 b/s), falling closely behind only No. 6 Creighton (36 total, 2.77 per set).

At the net, the Golden Eagles have finished three of their four conference matches with at least nine blocks, led by a 10-block performance in its most recent sweep over Butler.

“I think our hitters, our blockers, have done a pretty good job of processing what’s going on on the other side of the net, seeing where hitters can go,” Theis said. “We’ve been working a lot to try and reach outside the body line if the hitter’s passed you and being blocked touches. So I think it’s showing up.”

Marquette’s passers stepping up

A few days before Marquette’s season-opener, Theis emphasized how beneficial it is to have a returning core of back row passers.

“The fact that that Aubrey (Hamilton) and Jenna (Reitsma) have been two out of our three primary passers for three straight years certainly helps that transition for any [new] libero,” he said then.

Theis proved to be prescient, as half of the Golden Eagles’ top six digs leaders are primary back row passers.

Marquette leads the Big East in digs (239 total, 18.38 d/s). It has had multiple players post double-digit digs in all four of its conference matches, and the team hasn’t finished a Big East game with less than 55 total.

Marquette travels to St. John’s 

The Golden Eagles are returning to Queens Friday to face the team that beat them twice last season.

Marquette lost both matches against St. John’s in five sets, the latter sending the Golden Eagles out of the Big East tournament in the semifinals.

The Red Storm are coming off a 3-0 loss to Xavier over the weekend.

“St. John’s without question, they can play three slow matches in a row, and look like, you know they’re not prepared, and as soon as Marquette walks in, they’re ready to go,” Theis said.

“So we’ve played some tough ones there before, and we’ll expect another tough one Friday.”

Despite being swept, St. John’s star right side Erin Jones — who got triple doubles in each of the Red Storm’s wins over the Golden Eagles last year — posted her second triple double of the season (13 kills, 11 assists, and 10 digs).

This article was written by Jack Albright. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @JackAlbrightMU.