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Well another weekend of going undefeated in the Big East has passed for Marquette volleyball. That led to another week of Big East awards for Allie Barber and Martha Konovodoff and well, this is kind of exactly how this is supposed to go. Nothing has surprised me yet in the Big East portion of the schedule, Marquette is crushing everyone except Creighton. Allie Barber is continuing to be one of the best players in the country, averaging 4.69 kills per set, which is pretty absurd. Lauren Speckman has been battling some injuries it seems, so the setting has been split super evenly by Sarah Rose and Claire Mosher. They have looked pretty good in Speckman’s absence. Martha Konovodoff is continuing to be the defensive goddess she is and just gets to most every single ball that crosses the net. When she doesn’t get to it, Konovodoff ends up being the one making the pass for the attack. This team is really really good and these Big East opponents don’t belong on the same floor as them.
A history note, if I may.
As mentioned above, Allie Barber is ripping it up to the tune of 4.69 kills per set. Marquette is guaranteed to play six sets combined on Friday and Saturday. That would give Barber right around 28 kills in the two matches.
Allie Barber is 23 kills away from Theresa Coughlin’s career record for kills.
If Allie Barber has a below average weekend, we can expect her to break Coughlin’s record sometime on Saturday.
Big East Match #13: vs DePaul Blue Demons (11-13, 3-9 Big East)
Date: November 8, 2019 (Happy Birthday to me)
Time: 7 PM CT
Location: Al McGuire Center, Milwaukee, WI
Streaming: GoMarquette.com
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Twitter Updates: @MarquetteVB
Marquette is 33-29 all time against DePaul. MU’s current winning streak against the Blue Demons is up to 16 straight matches, and they’ve won each of the last 18 sets against DePaul as well.
DePaul started off the season looking pretty good against some terrible opponents. DePaul’s three Big East wins have been against the two worst teams in the league in Providence and Seton Hall, so there’s nothing special there. The Blue Demons come in on three straight losses and five losses in their last six matches. They’re just really not good.
Brittney Maxwell has been producing 3.63 kills per set this season, as she has appeared in every set DePaul has played this season so far. Maxwell has been pretty solid all season. DePaul has two other hitters above two kills per set, so that’s pretty good I guess.
Setting for DePaul is Natalie Hayward and Katie Dolan. Hayward is averaging 5.45 assists per set while Dolan is averaging 5.20. Hayward has appeared in 12 more sets than Dolan this season. It seems like both setters enjoy having Maxwell on the court as she is the primary target for both Hayward and Dolan.
DePaul is not very good and Marquette is very, very good. This will be an easy sweep for the Golden Eagles and a nice birthday present for me. Marquette in three, easy money. If Ryan Theis wants to throw in the Markus Howard Special and let Allie Barber run wild to break the record at home, that’d be cool, too.
Big East Match #14: at DePaul (11-13, 3-9)
Date: November 9, 2019
Time: 6 PM CT
Location: McGrath-Phillips Arena, Chicago, IL
Streaming: DePaul All Access
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Twitter Updates: @MarquetteVB
Yep, Marquette and DePaul are settling their required two matches this season on back-to-back days with both teams traveling south to Chicago following Friday night’s match. Nothing is really gonna change from the day prior, besides DePaul having another one in the loss column. Marquette in three again, book it.