MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Roni Jones-Perry and No. 3 BYU women’s volleyball beat No. 25 Marquette in four sets (23-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-14) Saturday night at the Al McGuire Center in the Cougars’ final match of the Marquette Invitational.

“We showed some nice composure losing the first set and being down in the second set,” BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. “Kennedy (Eschenberg) had a few big-time blocks that really changed the momentum. I'm proud of the team for fighting the entire match.”

Jones-Perry led the Cougars with 23 kills, three aces and seven digs. Lyndie Haddock-Eppich set the team with 56 assists while Mary Lake added 26 digs. Kennedy Eschenberg put up eight blocks. McKenna Miller chipped in 16 kills on a .438 clip and Heather Gneiting hit .571 to go with nine kills in the win.

Kills by Miller and Jones-Perry helped BYU (8-0) collect the first two points of the match. Marquette (6-2) quickly jumped ahead 6-4 after a kill, but the Cougars stormed ahead at 11-8 after a 5-1 run. BYU led by four, 17-13, after a Golden Eagle attack error, but Marquette got within one following three-straight points. A Gneiting and Miller block pushed the Cougars back in front 21-18, but the Golden Eagles countered with a 5-0 run to take a 23-21 edge. Marquette then won the close set 25-23 on a kill.

Fueled by an 8-2 run, the Golden Eagles went up 8-4 to start the second set. A Miller kill kept BYU within striking distance, trailing 11-7. Marquette stayed in front at 16-10 after a block, but a 6-2 Cougar rally brought BYU within two at 18-16. Kills from Jones-Perry and Eschenberg eventually evened things up at 22-all, forcing a Golden Eagle timeout. The Cougars then went in front, winning the set 25-22 after two kills from Miller and a Jones-Perry ace.   

A 4-1 BYU run helped the Cougars take a 5-4 advantage at the beginning of the third set. The teams stayed close as a Haddock-Eppich kill made it 9-9. A Jones-Perry kill kept BYU in front of the closely-contested set 15-14, and a Gneiting ace made it 21-18. Miller ended the set 25-20 with a kill.

The Cougars jumped ahead 7-2 to start the fourth set following a solo block from Eschenberg. Back-to-back Miller kills made it 11-5, and consecutive Eschenberg blocks pushed BYU in front 18-10. Mary Lake had two kills in a row before a final kill from Jones-Perry ended the set and match 25-14.

At the conclusion of the match, Jones-Perry and Haddock-Eppich were named to the all-tournament team and Jones-Perry was named the Most Valuable Player of the invitational.

The Cougars return home to the Smith Fieldhouse next, facing Utah in the Deseret First Duel Thursday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. MDT. The match will be televised on BYUtv and a link to live stats can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.

PROVO, Utah – No. 3 BYU women’s volleyball hits the road this week for a trio of challenging matches against No. 10 USC, undefeated Syracuse and No. 25 Marquette in the Marquette Invitational.

Last Week

The Cougars (5-0) won the BYU Nike Invitational with victories against West Virginia, then-No. 1 Stanford and Wichita State. Roni Jones-Perry was named the tournament MVP and was honored as the WCC and AVCA Player of the Week.

No. 10 USC

• BYU faces USC Friday, Sept. 7, at 10 a.m. CDT, at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee, Wis.
• The Trojans lead the all-time series history against the Cougars 13-6. USC has won the last five meetings between the two squads, but the teams are 6-6 when playing on a neutral court.
• The Trojans are 5-1 so far this season, picking up impressive victories against ranked opponents Kentucky, Creighton and Florida.
• USC is led this season in his first year by former Portland head coach Brent Crouch.
• The Trojans were picked to finish second in the Pac-12 this season, receiving one first-place vote. They finished 25-10, 14-6 last year and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.

Syracuse

• BYU competes against Syracuse Friday, Sept. 7, at 5 p.m. CDT, at Marquette.
• The Cougars won the only other meeting all-time in the history of the two squads, picking up a sweep in 1989.
• Syracuse is a perfect 2-0 to start the 2018 season, with wins over New Hampshire and Connecticut.
• The Orange were picked to finish ninth in the ACC this year after going 22-14, 12-8 last year.

No. 25 Marquette

• BYU faces host Marquette Saturday, Sept. 8, at 6 p.m. CDT.
• The Cougars are 2-0 all-time against the Golden Eagles, having last won a five-set matchup on a neutral court in 2013.
• Marquette is 5-1 to start the year, only falling at ranked Baylor along the way.
• The Golden Eagles are the favorite to win the Big East, according to the preseason coaches’ poll, after going 22-10, 15-3 a season ago.

Video/Stats

There will be a video stream for the match against Marquette. Live stats will be available for all three matches. Links can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.