Courtesy: Big East Athletics
NEW YORK – Eight of the nine BIG EAST volleyball matches this weekend will take place on the East Coast with No. 10 Creighton locked in to its top-10 national ranking for a fifth straight week according to the latest AVCA poll. The Bluejays are the only remaining unbeaten team in the league at 6-0. No. 19 Marquette holds firm to its ranking for a second consecutive week. The Golden Eagles improved to 6-1 in the BIG EAST with a home sweep over Butler on Wednesday.
On Friday, the current top four teams in the league will square off against each other. Conference leader No. 10 Creighton (14-4, 6-0) battles third-place Georgetown (12-7, 5-2) at 6 p.m. in Washington, D.C., while second-place No. 19 Marquette visits fourth-place St. John’s (15-7, 4-3) at 5 p.m. DePaul will visit Seton Hall on Friday evening at 7 p.m. ET for this week’s featured match live streamed on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN). Villanova (10-9, 3-4) hosts Providence (7-10, 1-5) as well on Friday at 7 p.m.
Xavier will stay in the Midwest setting up a clash with Butler on Saturday at 2 p.m. Georgetown welcomes Providence and DePaul heads to St. John’s with both matches beginning at 5 p.m. The final two matches of the weekend starting at 7 p.m. will feature Creighton at Villanova and Marquette taking on Seton Hall (6-14, 1-6) in South Orange, N.J.
On Wednesday, Marquette (15-4, 6-1 BIG EAST) took care of business at home with a 3-0 win against Butler (25-12, 25-13, 25-22) that drops the Bulldogs to 6-14 overall and 3-5 in the BIG EAST. Golden Eagle junior Allie Barber recorded a match-high 17 kills, while senior Anna Haak tallied 11 digs and 10 kills to secure her third double-double of the season. Freshman Elizabeth LaBue collected 14 digs for Butler in the defeat, with senior Bri Lilly and junior Brooke Gregory adding eight kills apiece.
DePaul (5-13, 3-4) won its third BIG EAST match out of its last four Wednesday when it knocked off visiting Xavier (5-14, 3-5) in four sets (25-23, 25-21, 17-25, 25-20). Blue Demon sophomore Isabelle Banez led the match with 21 digs, while classmate Emma Price notched a match high 19 kills. The Musketeers recorded a season-high 10 aces, the most for the program since Oct. 10, 2015. Redshirt sophomore Audrey Adams led the team with four aces along with six blocks. Senior Laura Grossman had a team-high 13 kills.
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