Volleyball Plays Host to No. 14 Creighton, Providence on Senior Weekend

Saturday, November 11

Cincinnati, Ohio

12:30 p.m.

Xavier University

Creighton

Volleyball Plays Host to No. 14 Creighton, Providence on Senior Weekend

11.07.17 | Volleyball

The Musketeers open weekend action on Saturday against the Bluejays

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier volleyball returns to BIG EAST action on Nov. 11-12 at Cintas Center. The Musketeers take on No. 14 Creighton on Saturday and Providence on Sunday.

Sunday's match versus the Friars will serve as Senior Day for the Musketeers five seniors: Lauren Frilling, Mackenzi Humm, Kristen Massa, Alexis Newsome and Samantha Foti.

THE MATCHUP VS CREIGHTON

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (10-18, 5-9) vs No. 14 CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS (20-5, 13-1)
Match Info - Saturday, Nov. 11 - 12:30 p.m. - Cintas Center
Live stats - bit.ly/1UjZhTG
Live video (BEDN) - bit.ly/1sjW14c

ABOUT CREIGHTON

2017 Record: 20-5 (13-1 BIG EAST)
2016 Postseason: NCAA Elite Eight
Series History: Xavier trails, 13-0

LAST MEETING - CREIGHTON 3, XAVIER 0 | RECAP
• Junior Meredith Klare posted a team-high 11 digs.
• Junior Morgan Finn paced the Musketeers with seven kills, while classmate Laura Grossman added six. Freshman Maya Krause chipped in five kills.
• Both teams had three blocks in the match. Alexis Newsome paced Xavier with two blocks to go along with four kills and a .286 hitting percentage.
• Freshman Nadia Dieudonne posted a team-high 14 assists to go along with four digs. Junior McKena Estes added 12 assists and five digs.

THE MATCHUP VS PROVIDENCE

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (10-18, 5-9) vs PROVIDENCE FRIARS (16-13, 5-9)
Match Info - Sunday, Nov. 12 - 1 p.m. - Cintas Center
Live stats - bit.ly/1UjZhTG
Live video - bit.ly/2h68k08

ABOUT PROVIDENCE

2017 Record: 16-13 (5-9 BIG EAST)
2016 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier leads, 7-1

LAST MEETING - PROVIDENCE 3, XAVIER 1 | RECAP
• Junior Laura Grossman posted a match-high 20 kills in the first meeting between the two schools. The outside hitter recorded a .471 hitting percentage and added six digs.
• Junior Morgan Finn had nine kills, while Alexis Newsome, Maya Krause and Audrey Adams each added six kills. Adams also hit .600 and chipped in a block.
• Xavier had two more total team blocks (8-6) than the Friars. Lauren Frilling led the Musketeers with five blocks, while Morgan Finn added three.
• Xavier posted a season-high nine aces against Providence. Mackenzi Humm led the Musketeers with three aces, while Samantha Foti and Meredith Klare added two.
• Meredith Klare recorded a match-high 15 digs, while Samantha Foti added 11.

LAST TIME OUT - XU AT BUTLER

• Xavier had its three-match win streak snapped on Nov. 3 as the Musketeers dropped a three-set match (19-25, 18-25, 23-25) at Butler.

• Audrey Adams and Samantha Foti led the Musketeers with nine kills each. The nine kills for Adams marked a career-high for the redshirt-freshman. Adams also posted a team-high .429 hitting percentage on the night.

• Samantha Foti also led the team in digs with eight. Laura Grossman and McKena Estes both added seven digs. McKena Estes led the Musketeers in assists with 16, while Mackenzi Humm added 15.

• Laura Grossman added eight kills and a match-high four aces. The four aces were also a career high as the junior outside hitter now has nine on the year.

• Xavier was held to zero blocks on the night as the Bulldogs held a 10-0 advantage in the statistical category. The Musketeers entered the match ranked third in the BIG EAST in blocks.

RECORD BREAKING PERFORMANCE

• Alexis Newsome posted a Xavier single-match school record of 12 blocks against St. John's on Oct. 7. The previous record of 11 total blocks was set by Alex Blair on Sept. 19, 2014 against Lipscomb. The 12 blocks also rank 11th in the NCAA this season for single-match performances (five sets).

• The Musketeers posted 23 total team blocks, tied for the fourth most in the NCAA this season.

NOTABLES

• Xavier leads the BIG EAST in digs (16.10 d/s), while ranking 80th nationally. The Musketeers also rank third in blocks (2.35 b/s) in the conference, ranking 61st nationally in the statistical category.

• Meredith Klare leads the conference in digs per set (4.46), while ranking 71st nationally in total digs (455).

• Alexis Newsome and Lauren Frilling both rank in the top-10 of the BIG EAST stats in blocks. Newsome ranks fourth (1.09 b/s), while Frilling ranks eighth (0.94 b/s). Newsome also ranks 13th in hitting percentage (.287).

• Senior Mackenzi Humm ranks 10th in school history in assists with 1,931. The setter has averaged 5.35 a/s this season.

• The Xavier volleyball program captured its 800th program victory against Villanova on Oct. 28. The Musketeers have posted an 800-613 record in 44 years of competition.

KLARE - XU RECORD BOOK

• Meredith Klare ranks fourth in school history in digs with 1,416. The junior libero is 194 digs shy of moving into third place.

MASSA - CAREER MILESTONE

• Senior Kristen Massa eclipsed the 1,000-career kill mark in the Musketeers' 3-1 win over Albany on Saturday, Sept. 16. She now has 1,017 kills over her career as the outside hitter has averaged 2.59 k/s during her career.

PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST

• Senior Kristen Massa was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Massa, a 2015 All-BIG EAST First Team selection, ranked third on the team in kills (292) last season, while adding 47 blocks and 63 digs. The Cincinnati native had 10 or more kills in 16 matches.

PRESEASON POLL

• The Musketeers were picked to finish fourth in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll as selected by conference head coaches. The Musketeers finished tied for second in the BIG EAST standings a year ago and advanced to the conference tournament championship match before being defeated by No. 21 Creighton.

SCHEDULE NOTES

• Xavier faces seven teams that participated in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Seventeen of the Musketeers 23 opponents posted a winning record last year.

• The Musketeers' 23 opponents combined to post a 433-289 record last season with a .600 winning percentage. Xavier's opponents averaged 18.8 wins a year ago.

BIG EAST NOTES

• Xavier has posted a 56-27 record in BIG EAST play since joining the conference in 2013. The Musketeers have advanced to the conference tournament in all four seasons.

• The BIG EAST Tournament will be hosted by Marquette after being held at Butler in 2016.

ABOUT THE TEAM

• Xavier posted a 20-13 (13-5) record last season under head coach Christy Pfeffenberger. The 20-win campaign was the 21st in program history.

• The Musketeers overall record of 20-13 last year was the programs 19th consecutive season with a .500 or above record.

• Head coach Christy Pfeffenberger has posted a 48-41 overall record in three seasons with the Musketeers, including a 32-16 mark in BIG EAST play.

• Xavier players have earned AVCA All-American honors nine times in the last 12 years. Abbey Bessler earned AVCA All-American honorable mention team honors last year.