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Sept. 25, 2006

MILWAUKEE - On a day where the Golden Eagles honored the volleyball greats from the past, the Marquette volleyball team could not hold on to a two game lead and dropped a heartbreaking match to BIG EAST foe Georgetown in five games, 3-2 (30-27, 30-17, 27-30, 18-30, 11-15), this afternoon at the Al McGuire Center. The loss puts the Golden Eagles at 7-6, 1-1 on the season, while the Hoyas improve to 5-9, 1-1.

"This was a tough loss," said head coach Pati Rolf. "We made poor choices and this is a difficult lesson for us to learn. We need to keep coming back and keep working hard, and overall better choices need to be made. We are going to regroup and come out ready for DePaul on Friday."

Despite hitting only 2.6 percent in the first game, the Golden Eagles earned the first win, 30-27. Marquette gave up an early 8-2 lead and traded points until the Golden Eagles went on a 5-1 run sparked by a kill from senior outside hitter Theresa Coughlin, which clinched the victory.

Marquette cruised to an easy game two victory, 30-17, behind a 41 percent attack percentage. Coughlin led the way with six kills, while sophomore middle blocker Tiffany Helmbrecht and outside hitter Kim Todd combined for nine kills.

Game three was a different story as the Hoyas went on a 6-0 run capitalizing on Marquette errors midway through the third game en route to the 30-27 victory and avoiding the sweep. Georgetown rode the momentum of the third game win and won game four, 30-18, to force a fifth and deciding game. The Hoyas hit over 30 percent, while the Golden Eagles hit just 2.5 percent in game four.

Both teams played a very intense game five, trading points for most of the game, but a kill from Georgetown's Katherine Niesen broke the 11-11 point deadlock and the Hoyas capitalized on three consecutive Marquette errors to win game five, 15-11, and win the match 3-2.

Jessica George led the Hoyas with 17 kills and eight block assists, while Niesen contributed 12 kills and seven block assists. As a team, the Hoyas dominated at the net registering 17 total team blocks.

"Give credit to Georgetown. They stayed disciplined and maintained composure throughout the whole match. They swung and set better than we did, and showed a lot of maturity today," said Rolf.

Coughlin led Marquette with her sixth double-double of the season notching 21 kills and 16 digs.

The Golden Eagles return to action at 7 p.m., on Friday, September 30, hosting DePaul at the Al McGuire Center.