Xavier University Athletics
Friday, November 25
Indianapolis, Ind.
3:05 p.m.
Xavier University
20-12
3
vs
1
No. 2 Marquette
23-8
1
2
3
4
F
Xavier
16
25
25
25
3
Marquette
25
20
15
19
1
Musketeers Advance to BIG EAST Championship Match, Top Golden Eagles in Four Sets
11.25.16 | Volleyball
Xavier will take on top-seed No. 21 Creighton at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday on FS2
INDIANAPOLIS – No. 3 seed Xavier volleyball defeated No. 2 seed Marquette in four sets (16-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-19) on Friday afternoon in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The Musketeers (20-12) clinched the program's 21st, 20-win season following the win. Xavier also picked up its first BIG EAST Tournament win (1-3) to advance to the championship match.
Xavier will take on top-seed No. 21 Creighton on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 2:30 p.m. on FS2. The Bluejays (25-6) defeated No. 4 seed Seton Hall in three sets in the first semifinal match on Friday.
• Xavier's senior class of Abbey Bessler, Brooke Betts and Sofia Peterson combined for 34 of the team's 53 kills. They only committed five errors in 73 attempts.
• Sofia Peterson posted a team-high 14 kills to go along with a .542 hitting percentage. Abbey Bessler added 12 kills, while Brooke Bets had eight. Bessler also had three of Xavier's five service aces and eight digs.
• Morgan Finn collected 10 kills with a match-high .714 hitting percentage.
• Mackenzi Humm dished out a team-high 23 assists with nine digs. Fellow setter McKena Estes added 22 assists.
• Sophomore Meredith Klare had a match-high 15 digs. Classmate Kristen Massa added six kills a team-high five blocks. Xavier held a 7-2 advantage in total team blocks.
• The opening set featured nine ties and four lead changes. Tied at 10, Marquette went on a 9-3 run to pull ahead, 20-13. Marquette held on for the 25-16 victory. The Golden Eagles hit .458 in the opening set.
• Xavier led from start to finish in the second set. The Musketeers led by as many as eight, 18-10, and pulled away for a 25-20 victory to even the match at one.
• The Musketeers hit .412 in the frame. Abbey Bessler had six kills and hit .500, while Morgan Finn hit .833 with five kills. Sofia Peterson also had five kills.
• The third set had three ties and one lead change. Tied at five, the Musketeers went on a 20-10 run to close the set capped by back-to-back Sofia Peterson kills.
• The final stanza had four ties and two lead changes. Trailing 15-11, Xavier went on a 5-1 run to tie the match at 16. The Musketeers closed the game on a 9-3 run capped by a Kristen Massa kill to seal the victory.
The Musketeers (20-12) clinched the program's 21st, 20-win season following the win. Xavier also picked up its first BIG EAST Tournament win (1-3) to advance to the championship match.
Xavier will take on top-seed No. 21 Creighton on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 2:30 p.m. on FS2. The Bluejays (25-6) defeated No. 4 seed Seton Hall in three sets in the first semifinal match on Friday.
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MATCH NOTES |
• Xavier's senior class of Abbey Bessler, Brooke Betts and Sofia Peterson combined for 34 of the team's 53 kills. They only committed five errors in 73 attempts.
• Sofia Peterson posted a team-high 14 kills to go along with a .542 hitting percentage. Abbey Bessler added 12 kills, while Brooke Bets had eight. Bessler also had three of Xavier's five service aces and eight digs.
• Morgan Finn collected 10 kills with a match-high .714 hitting percentage.
• Mackenzi Humm dished out a team-high 23 assists with nine digs. Fellow setter McKena Estes added 22 assists.
• Sophomore Meredith Klare had a match-high 15 digs. Classmate Kristen Massa added six kills a team-high five blocks. Xavier held a 7-2 advantage in total team blocks.
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SET ONE |
• The opening set featured nine ties and four lead changes. Tied at 10, Marquette went on a 9-3 run to pull ahead, 20-13. Marquette held on for the 25-16 victory. The Golden Eagles hit .458 in the opening set.
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SET TWO |
• Xavier led from start to finish in the second set. The Musketeers led by as many as eight, 18-10, and pulled away for a 25-20 victory to even the match at one.
• The Musketeers hit .412 in the frame. Abbey Bessler had six kills and hit .500, while Morgan Finn hit .833 with five kills. Sofia Peterson also had five kills.
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SET THREE |
• The third set had three ties and one lead change. Tied at five, the Musketeers went on a 20-10 run to close the set capped by back-to-back Sofia Peterson kills.
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SET FOUR |
• The final stanza had four ties and two lead changes. Trailing 15-11, Xavier went on a 5-1 run to tie the match at 16. The Musketeers closed the game on a 9-3 run capped by a Kristen Massa kill to seal the victory.
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SOCIAL MEDIA |
POSTGAME INTERVIEW: Coach Pfeffenberger talks about today's win over Marquette in the BIG EAST semifinals. #LetsGoX https://t.co/EeTzGn7UT0
— Xavier Volleyball (@XavierVBALL) November 25, 2016
POSTGAME INTERVIEW: Sofia Peterson talks about today's win over Marquette. #LetsGoX https://t.co/b4JhcLrKan
— Xavier Volleyball (@XavierVBALL) November 25, 2016
ICYMI: Match point from our win over No. 2 seed Marquette! #LetsGoX https://t.co/8kM4SylCxX
— Xavier Volleyball (@XavierVBALL) November 25, 2016
HIGHLIGHTS: Some of the top plays from Friday's win over Marquette. #LetsGoX https://t.co/JMp66vJz7T
— Xavier Volleyball (@XavierVBALL) November 25, 2016
Team Stats
XU
MU
Kills
53
53
Errors
11
25
Attempts
120
131
Hitting %
.350
.214
Points
65.0
62.0
Assists
48
48
Aces
5
7
Blocks
7.0
2.0
Game Leaders
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
12
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
OH
/ VolleyballRS/MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballRS
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
Libero
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballRS
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