The lights were dimmed, the hype video played, all seven of Marquette’s seniors ran out of the tunnel with smoke funneling on both their left and right. ‘Thunderstruck’ blared, thousands of fans clapped from side-to-side, and the referee blew his whistle and the match began. It was business as usual for Marquette women’s volleyball (20-7, 14-2 Big East) at the Al McGuire Center Sunday afternoon — except this time was the final time.
The Golden Eagles concluded their 2024 home campaign with a 3-0 win over Seton Hall (25-18, 25-14, 25-19). Just as it had done for the majority of Big East play, Marquette made sure there was no dust left on the taraflex, breaking out the brooms once again, this time at the expense of the Pirates from New Jersey (11-16, 5-11 Big East).
The offensive wealth continued to be spread amongst the Golden Eagles, with Hattie Bray (14), Aubrey Hamilton (12) and Ella Foti (9) all finishing with nine kills or more. Carsen Murray and Natalie Ring both chipped in with eight a piece as well.
“I think a lot of it comes from good first and second touches,” Theis said when asked about the versatility his offense displayed over the weekend. “I thought Yadi set really well all weekend, and kept the teams off balance, which was great. Balanced scoring helps.”
Marquette led 10-8 in the first set when Yadhira Anchante fed Murray for one of their patented lightning quick connections for a point. A 15-8 run ensued for the Golden Eagles, and after somewhat of a sluggish start, their defense had awoken like a bear from its winter slumber.
The frame ended thanks to a pair of kills from Bray, who finished the set with four kills on 1.000 hitting.
Foti had a set-high six kills in the first frame, swinging .600. Marquette hit .378 as a team enroute to the 25-18 set victory, and was able to hold Seton Hall to just .278.
Bray started the second frame of play out with her hair on fire, firing off three kills in the early goings of the set.
“I thought she was a constant force that they had to try and deal with,” Theis said. “I thought that helped open up other people.”
Bray’s match-high 14 kills marked the third consecutive game she’s finished with double digit kills. The last time she had hit that mark previous to this streak? Oct. 25 at Seton Hall.
“She’s been really aggressive, really smooth,” Theis said. “Yadi’s setting her really well, those two connections, it’s probably the best it’s been.
“We’ll have to ride that into the postseason.”
Later in the set, Hamilton sent her fifth and sixth kills of the match to the floor to make it an 18-9 advantage for the Golden Eagles. After a Seton Hall attack error, Hamilton fired home another point for Marquette. The Golden Eagles had the Pirates on their heels, and delivered the knockout punch moments later.
After a service error from Bray and an ace from Mason Woo, Ring delivered the final point of the frame for Marquette to give it a 25-14 win in set two.
The Golden Eagles’ defense was once again outstanding in the frame, holding Seton Hall to a .000 hitting percentage.
In her final game in the Al, you knew Anchante was going to catch the Pirates off guard with one of her scheduled setter dumps, and she did just that in the third set to give Marquette a 4-3 advantage in the third set.
Anchante — whose family was in Milwaukee this weekend to watch her play for the first time since she transferred to Marquette — said that emotions were running high as the Golden Eagles completed their final home game of the season.
“I think we were all excited because it was our last home game,” she said. “We were emotional and just wanted to have fun.”
The following play, Madison Loiselle proved that Anchante wasn’t the only one in the building capable of doing such a thing, matching Anchante’s dump with one of her own. The dump evened things up at five and was the start of a 5-2 run that saw Seton Hall claim an 10-7 advantage of its own.
Bray came down with back-to-back blocks on the following two plays, and it was all Marquette from there.
The Golden Eagles finished the match on a 18-12 run, completing the sweep thanks to a 25-19 win in set three.
This story was written by Matthew Baltz. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @MatthewBaltzMU.
