I think it’s weirdly appropriate that the midway point of the 18 game Big East schedule right as Marquette is on the road trip against the two teams that they will only see one time this season. Friday against Georgetown is Match #9 as Marquette is already 6-2 in Big East play, and then they start off the second half of the 18 games on Saturday evening against Villanova. I can’t help but wonder if Marquette’s RPI will be helped out ever so slightly by having 10 road contests in Big East play against 8 at home. If only the Hoyas were in the top 100 instead of sitting at #148 as of Monday morning, alas.
The fact that Marquette is playing Villanova only once this season has come into slightly more importance than it was a week ago. A week ago, the Golden Eagles hadn’t lost to Xavier yet. Now they have, and that means that MU heads into the weekend with two losses in Big East play. Villanova also sits at 6-2 in the Big East having also lost to Xavier and Creighton, both at home. Sure, it seems likely or at the very least possible that Villanova will repeat those losses when they turn around and tangle with those teams on the road and thus take a third and fourth loss…… but Marquette also has to play XU and CU on the road between now and the end of the season.
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That means Saturday’s match has the potential to be the tiebreaker for the #3 and #4 seeds in the Big East tournament. If Marquette and Villanova both end up going 13-4 against the rest of the league, then whoever gets the win on Saturday will be 14-4 and the losing team will be 13-5. Not a literal tiebreaker, mind you, but the data point separating one team from a conference tournament semifinal match against Xavier and a semifinal match against what will presumably be a top 15 ranked Creighton team.
I for one would like to put off facing the Bluejays again as long as possible, especially since Marquette was much closer to toppling Xavier than they were to beating Creighton in their first meetings this season. It is possible that MU will need one extra win when it comes time to put the NCAA tournament field together, as MU’s RPI rank currently stands at #37 and playing six matches against sub-140 opponents the rest of the way won’t be a big help. Did I say that three of those opponents are sub-200 in the RPI? Well, now I did and you see the point here.
Beat Villanova. Get a top 50 (or at least top 60, they might slide from #46) win on the road, hold that tie breaker, then finish the season strong. One thing at a time.
Oh, yeah, don’t forget to beat Georgetown on Friday. Kind of important there. Can’t make the Villanova match mean something if you take a loss to the Hoyas.
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Big East Match #9: at Georgetown Hoyas (11-10, 4-4 Big East)
Date: Friday, October 24, 2025
Time: 6pm Central
Location: McDonough Arena, Washington, D.C.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: Dunno, honestly
Twitter Updates: @MarquetteVB
Bluesky Updates: @AnonymousEagle
Marquette is 25-4 all time against Georgetown. All of GU’s victories in the series came in the first seven meetings, so it’s been 22 straight victories for the Golden Eagles now. Marquette hasn’t lost a set to the Hoyas since 2019, and that’s the only set they’ve dropped since 2016.
Georgetown snapped a three match losing streak last time out by picking up a 3-1 win at Providence on Saturday. Is it a great win? No, but it beats losing, and it pulled the Hoyas back up to 4-4 in the league through eight matches. Seeing as Georgetown went 4-14 in the Big East last season, holding four wins through eight matches is great news for them, so tip of the cap.
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Dionna Mitchell is Georgetown’s best attacker this season at 3.09 kills per set, but the fact of the matter is that she missed both of their matches last weekend. She had 34 swings in their three set loss to Creighton on October 10th, so it would certainly seem like she got through the end of that match no problem. If she’s still out this weekend, then Samantha Soderlund is GU’s top hitter with 2.85 kills/set. Soderlund led the squad with nine kills in their loss to UConn last weekend, and then tied with Katherine McGregor with 16 each for the top spot in the four set victory against the Friars.
I’m not sure what’s going on with Georgetown’s setting situation. Juleigh Urbina is the overall leader with 6.29 assists per set and she’s played in every set this season. Natalie Nguyen has played in just 64 of 83 sets, but in Big East play, that’s up to 26 of 30……. but the four she missed were in their most recent match against Providence. Urbina had 49 assists in the win over the Friars, which is great. Was that a tactic against PC, or an overall shift especially with Dionna Mitchell out of the lineup? Does that all change if Mitchell plays on Friday?
Big East Match #10: at Villanova Wildcats (15-4, 6-2 Big East)
Date: Saturday, October 25, 2025
Time: 6pm Central
Location: Jake Nevin Field House, Villanova, Pennsylvania
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Twitter Updates: @MarquetteVB
Bluesky Updates: @AnonymousEagle
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Marquette is 27-4 all time against Villanova. The Golden Eagles come in on a 14 match winning streak against the Wildcats. The Golden Eagles have won six of the last seven meetings in straight sets, including 3-0 in the Big East semifinals last season.
Let’s play a game called “How close is Villanova to an NCAA tournament berth?” The Wildcats didn’t play a single non-conference match against anyone in the top 65 of the RPI, which is probably not great for them. They also played three sub-180 non-conference contests, which is not helping them boost up their own ranking past its current #46. They also have a sub-100 loss on their record, which they took against #108 Drake in an event hosted by South Dakota….. where they also lost to the #81 ranked Coyotes….. but did record their best non-conference win of the season, besting #70 Wichita State in five sets.
It would seem that they’re pushing their luck, unlike similarly RPI’d Georgia (#47) out of the SEC, which has a top 40 win and four more W’s in the top 100 to go with a sub-100 loss. Is Saturday night a major opportunity for Villanova to make a push towards the field of 64? Seems like it, right?
Wanna see a slightly misleading headline? Check out Villanova’s recap of their 3-1 victory against UConn on Saturday. “Villanova Picks Up First Victory at Connecticut Since 2010 With Four-Set Saturday W.” You’ll never guess how many times VU played in Storrs between the 2013 season and the 2021 season. Five entire straight losses in 15 years. Amazing.
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Abby Harrell is Villanova’s top attacker, and she’s coming off her first ever Big East Offensive Player of the Week honors. After putting up a pair of double-doubles against UConn and Providence where she averaged 4.75 kills/set, Harrell is now at 3.88 per set for the season and 3.94/set in Big East play. The notable thing is that she’s hitting .274 for the year, which is quite good for someone who is carrying the heavy team lead workload at the net. Harrell is only hitting .235 in Big East play while taking about twice as many swings as anyone else, but remember: Big East play has featured Nova’s three toughest opponents of the season so far, so that has to be limiting to her success one way or another.
Alyssa Nelson and Ava Harris are splitting the setting duties with both women playing in every match this season and Harris missing just two sets all year. In terms of average, there’s not much separating them at 5.85 assists/set and 5.54/set, and you could probably chalk Nelson’s advantage up to those two extra sets.
Campbell McKinnon and Reagan McGivern are both just barely short of a block per set this season. That’s particularly notable in McKinnon’s case, as she stands just 5’10” instead of McGivern’s 6’2” frame. Marquette is struggling with blocks this season, giving up the third most in the Big East at 2.35 per set. As always, sometimes it’s not the actual block that causes you a problem, it’s reacting to the block and trying to hit it somewhere else, so talented blockers like these two can cause even more problems.
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