It was the picture perfect ending to a picture perfect comeback.
After being just 25 points away from being swept at home by an unranked opponent for the first time since Nov. 6, 2015, the Golden Eagles had clawed their way back out of a seemingly insurmountable hole.
The winner-take-all fifth set was pretty much a microcosm of what the entire match had been: an unrelenting war where every point, every inch and every play was an all-out battle.
The teams were even at eight when DePaul tried to make its move. After a service error from defensive specialist Molly Berezowitz, the Blue Demons fired home another point to make it 10-8.
But just as they done all night, the Golden Eagles came storming back.
DePaul was welcomed to the Hattie Bray and Jenna Reitsma show, where nothing is given and everything is earned. The duo first teamed up for a block, and then had back-to-back kills to give Marquette a 12-10 advantage.
Marquette waited until the match once again was deadlocked at 14 to put the final nail in the coffin.
A kill from Bray set up the second match point of the night for the Golden Eagles. After a bit of back and forth, the ball found the palm of none other than redshirt senior outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton. Who else, right?
Hamilton hammered the ball just past the outstretched arms of DePaul libero Rachel Krasowski for the match sealing point.
Who else but Aubrey Hamilton?
Her 28th kill is enough to get the win for #muvb in extra points in the fifth set. pic.twitter.com/YGavLehcfs
— Jack Albright (@JackAlbrightMU) October 19, 2024
“I think earlier in the year, if we were falling behind we responded poorly,” head coach Ryan Theis said. “And I think we’ve changed that mentality. I think they believe in each other a little bit more now and I think that helped today.”
Thanks to a career-high 28 kills from Hamilton, Marquette women’s volleyball (10-6, 6-1 Big East) completed its reverse sweep of DePaul (13-6, 5-2 Big East) in five sets (20-25, 20-25, 25-16, 25-23, 16-14).
“It’s pretty amazing because, we struggled in the beginning, and just to come through and win this set and the match altogether was awesome,” Hamilton said.
Just as it had a week ago at St. John’s, Marquette came out sluggish and dropped the first frame, 25-20. The Golden Eagles were limited to just a .211 hitting percentage.
However, they stormed back a week ago to take the next three sets enroute to a 3-1 win. It wouldn’t be nearly as easy this time.
After holding a 7-6 lead in the second frame, Marquette wouldn’t see another advantage the rest of the set.
Graduate outside hitter Jill Pressly tallied a set-high five kills for DePaul, and senior middle blocker Aly Kindelberger chipped in four as the Blue Demons once again downed the Golden Eagles 25-20 in set two.
“They have some really good defenders, (Krasowski) is a great player,” Theis said. “I just didn’t think we were getting quality swings to get enough pressure.”
Late in the second set, Hamilton became the 14th player in program history to reach 1,000 kills in a Marquette uniform. Hamilton now has 1,019 career kills at Marquette and 1,531 total in 81 career matches.
With its back against the wall in set three, Marquette got out to a 14-9 lead. Three Blue Demon attack errors and a senior outside hitter Ella Foti kill later, the Golden Eagles suddenly had blown the set wide open, leading 19-12.
Three of the last four points of the frame ended the same way: with a thunderous kill from Hamilton. Marquette not only avoided the sweep, but also garnered all the momentum it needed to attempt awe-inspiring comeback.
“Halfway through the third set, I was like ‘how many does she got?'”, Theis said. “It was 15, then it was 20, and I was like man, she’s gonna end up with 30.”
Hamilton exploded for a set-high 10 kills, as they Golden Eagles took set four 25-23. After leading 24-19, with a fifth set looming, Marquette dropped the following four points, trimming its lead to just to just one.
But Hamilton made sure to remind everyone of whose night it was, as she sent her career-high tying 25th kill to the taraflex. And just like that, the once still Al McGuire Center had come unglued.
“They were super quiet in the second even when it was it was close,” Theis said when asked about the crowds effect on the outcome. “Whether it’s ‘oh my gosh we’re down’ effect on our team and in the crowd, I’m not sure. But as soon as we got things going they were there for us.”
Up next
Marquette welcomes Xavier (6-11, 4-3 Big East) to the Al McGuire Center on Sunday. The match is set to begin at 1 p.m. CST.
This story was written by Matthew Baltz. He can be reached at matthew.baltz@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @MatthewBaltzMU.