Some thoughts on Marquette volleyball (9-6, 5-1) after a 2-0 week:

Golden Eagles show mettle on the road

Ryan Theis knew Marquette’s road trip to St. John’s was going to be difficult.

“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 prior to the match.

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

After all, last season, the Red Storm sent the Golden Eagles back to Milwaukee with their first defeat in Big East play, before besting them again in the Big East tournament. So what Theis said was understandable.

Then Friday rolled around, and St. John’s convincingly won the first set 25-14, and it seemed like a repeat loss in Queens was on the cards for Marquette.

But the Golden Eagles would win the next three frames and take the match, 3-1, before sweeping Villanova Sunday.

Hamilton has her best weekend of the season

Aubrey Hamilton finished all of Marquette’s first seven games of the season with double-digit kills. The six games following that stretch, though, the graduate student outside hitter eclipsed 10 kills only once.

But Hamilton found her best form in Marquette’s first double-match road swing of Big East play.

Against St. John’s Friday, she paced the Golden Eagles with a season-high 17 kills, hitting .316 — the second time she swung over .300 all season. Sunday at Villanova, Hamilton was even more efficient, hitting a season-best .452, which marked the first time she reached the .400 hitting percentage mark.

She averaged 4.57 kills per set on .377 hitting in Marquette’s 2-0 week, a statline good enough to earn her a spot on the Big East Weekly Honor Roll.

Anchante: A walking double-double

It’s more of a storyline this season when setter Yadhira Anchante doesn’t post a double-double.

Of Marquette’s 15 matches, Anchante has a double-double in 11 of them — eight more than the next closest Golden Eagle (Jenna Reitsma and Hamilton both have three).

Anchante is currently on a four-match double-double streak.

If she gets two more in a row, she’ll tie the six consecutive double-double run she got earlier in the season.

Ring’s improved run of form 

Natalie Ring made her second start of the season in Marquette’s sweep over Villanova.

The outside hitter finished the match with 12 kills, and two days prior she racked up 10 in the win over the Red Storm.

Those two performances, along with the career-high 13 kills she posted against Butler Oct. 6, mean Ring has reached at least 10 kills in three-straight matches. She is also now averaging 2.24 kills per frame on a .242 hitting mark.

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