MILWAUKEE, Wis. – No. 3 seed Marquette (23-8, 12-2 BIG EAST) defeated No. 6 seed Seton Hall (17-13, 7-7 BIG EAST) 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21) in the last quarterfinal match of the BIG EAST Volleyball Championship on Friday at the Al McGuire Center. Marquette, in front of an energetic home crowd, advanced to the semifinals for the second-straight season.
Senior Ashley Beyer led Marquette with 17 kills in the three-set match. Junior Holly Mertens also played a large role in the victory with 15 kills in the match. BIG EAST Freshman of the year Chelsea Heier dished out 46 assists as Marquette hit .362 for the match. All-BIG EAST First Team member Meghan Matusiak led Seton Hall with 14 kills and 12 digs. Freshman Shelbey Manthorpe posted a triple-double for the Pirates with 10 kills, 14 digs and 28 assists.
Marquette won the first set 25-22 with the help of Beyer’s seven kills. After the Golden Eagles took an early 5-0 lead the Pirates answered with a run of their own and evened the match up at 8-8. Matusiak led the Pirates effort with five kills while junior Hannah Hugeback, junior Morgan DeVries, freshman Stacey Manthorp and Shelbey Manthorp each tallied two kills.
The Golden Eagles captured the second set 25-21 with a balanced attack. Beyer and Mertens each posted five kills while senior Ciara Jones and junior Danielle Carlson added four and three, respectively. With Marquette holding an advantage at 15-14, the Golden Eagles scored the next five points to extend the lead to 20-14. Seton Hall then rallied and scored the next four points to close the gap to 20-18. The Golden Eagles scored five of the next eight points to hold on and win the set. Sophomore Julie Jeziorowski notched 11 digs in the set. Matusiak posted four kills for the Pirates while Shelbey Manthorpe posted three kills and eight digs.
Marquette took the final set 25-21 as Jones posted six kills and Beyer and Mertens each recorded five. Matusiak posted five kills and Shelby Manthorpe notched four kills and 10 assists for the Pirates.
Marquette will face No. 2 seed Cincinnati at 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT Saturday in the second of two semifinal matches. The Golden Eagles and Bearcats played on Nov. 5 with Cincinnati taking a 3-1 victory.
Championship Bracket:
Quarterfinals, Friday, Nov. 18
Match 1: No. 5 Notre Dame 3, No. 4 Syracuse 1 (27-25,25-17,21-25,25-19)
Match 2: No. 1 Louisville 3, No. 8 Pittsburgh 1 (25-13,25-20,24-26,25-20)
Match 3: No. 2 Cincinnati 3, No. 7 Villanova 0 (25-11,25-14,25-16)
Match 4: No. 3 Marquette 3, No. 6 Seton Hall 0 (25-22,25-21,25-21)
Semifinals, Saturday, Nov. 19
Match 5: No. 1 Louisville vs. No. 5 Notre Dame, 2 p.m. ET/ 1 p.m. CT
Match 6: No. 3 Marquette vs. No. 2 Cincinnati, 4:30 p.m. ET/ 3:30 p.m. CT
Championship, Sunday, Nov. 20
Match 7: Semifinal winners, 4:00 p.m. ET/ 3:00 p.m. CT (LIVE – ESPNU)
