It’s been a year of continual development for Natalie Ring.
Thanks to the junior outside hitter tying her career high of 13 kills for the third time this month, Marquette women’s volleyball (12-6) cruised to a sweep of it’s inner-city rival Milwaukee (12-10), Tuesday night at the Al McGuire Center (25-17, 25-16, 25-17).
“We started off led by offense, then I thought from there, the defense picked it up,” head coach Ryan Theis said.
Redshirt senior outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton tallied 11 kills on the evening, continuing her dominance from the weekend.
The Golden Eagles got out to a 14-9 lead in set one thanks to six kills from Ring. The Madison, Wisconsin native who came into the Tuesday averaging 2.41 kills per set, helped Marquette’s offense get going early.
“We started (Ring) at left front, she has the potential to score a bunch of points,” Theis said. “When you get a run early or a hot streak at the beginning, you know, it shows up throughout the match, I thought she played well.”
From there, the rest of the squad would follow. An abundance of kills by redshirt senior outside hitter Ella Foti (2), graduate middle blocker Carsen Murray (3), Hamilton (3), senior middle blocker Hattie Bray (2) and another from Ring herself would lead the Golden Eagles to a 25-17 set one victory.
“I think we went in with a good understanding of their defense and their blocking scheme, and I think we were able to execute at a pretty high level, efficiently, so that was fun,” Ring said.
Murray, who finished the match with a .727 hitting percentage, showed off all the tools that have made her the most efficient hitter in program history.
Set two was more of the same for Marquette, as it took home the second set 25-16 thanks to another set-leading five kill performance from Ring. Murray, who hit a majestic .875 in the first two sets, finished the frame with four kills on five attempts.
“I thought she was up in transition and found space, Theis said. “I thought Yadi fed her some really good balls. Every one she was able to get pretty good contact with or on top of the ball, that’s when Carsen’s at her best.”
The Panthers, who hit just .121 in the first set, only saw things get worse from there, as the Golden Eagles’ defense held them to just a .030 hitting percentage in set two.
In the third frame, Marquette would finish off the sweep, hitting .410 enroute to a 25-17 win.
The Golden Eagles hit the road to take on Seton Hall Friday in South Orange, NJ, in what will be their first game in three days out East. The opening serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. CST.
This story was written by Matthew Baltz. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @MatthewBaltzMU.
