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When: Tuesday, October 8, at 7pm
Where: Al McGuire Center
Audio/Visual: Home matches have FREE video streaming. Live stats will be available here.
Special Promotions: All tickets are just $2, as are "concessions," according to the promotions page on GoMarquette.com. I guess it's up to you to come to the match to find out what that means.
Twitter Updates: @MarquetteVB
The Golden Eagles (10-4, 3-0 Big East) are rolling right along as they take this non-conference break. They've started out with three straight wins to open Big East play as part of a five match overall winning streak, and they're the only team in the Big East still without a loss in conference matches.
Autumn Bailey leads MU with 4.06 kills per set, which has her ranked second in the Big East and 35th in the country. Elizabeth Koberstein is the best setter in the league with 11.45 assists per set, good enough for 20th nationally. Powerful lefty Lindsey "Oh My" Gosh seems to get better with her serve as the season goes on. She's averaging 0.65 aces per serve, which has her ranked fourth nationally, and obviously the best in the Big East.
Loyola is having an interesting season. They split their four matches at a season opening event hosted by Toledo, and then won all three of their contests at a tournament hosted by East Carolina. That's where the wheels came off, to a degree, as they lost their next five matches. In their defense, that includes losses to Notre Dame, Auburn, and Washington in straight sets, and a 3-1 loss to an always quality Northern Iowa team in their first ever Missouri Valley Conference match. They've won three of their last five, all in MVC action, to move to .500 in league play with a win in their last match against Indiana State.
We may dueling star freshmen on Tuesday night, as the Ramblers are led in kills by Morgan Reardon at 3.63 per set. However, Reardon hasn't played in either of their last two matches, and there's no sign from their official site as to her status. Of the players who have seen action in all 62 sets, junior Libby Bresser is your leader at 1.63 kills/set. Sophomore Brittany Brown averages 9.26 assists per set, and fellow sophomore Stephanie Kinane anchors the backline with 4.27 digs/set. The good news is that MU already has Kinane scouted as she was high school teammates with MU's Mary Nilles. One thing to keep an eye on: Sophomore Kelly Feigh leads the MVC in aces per set, but she averages just 0.37 per set, barely more than half as many as MU's Lindsey Gosh.