The volleyball team will come home this weekend, looking to end their three-game losing streak against the Marquette Golden Eagles at 2p.m. on Saturday at Walsh Gymnasium.
"I think everyone is excited," head coach Allison Yeager said. "We have had a couple losses, but the Big East is really tough and the teams that we've lost to are extremely tough and high up in RPI and in the Big East. They aren't expected losses but they are definitely losses that we can swallow and deal with."
Despite the losses, heading into the game against Marquette the Pirates hold an overall record of 15-4 (3-3 Big East).
Sophomore setter Shelby Manthorpe, who was named to three straight Big East Weekly Honor Rolls, said the losses have not taken a toll on the team.
"I don't think we are discouraged," Manthorpe said, "The Big East is really competitive and everyone is good this year so losing a few matches is not a big deal. We still have a lot to play."
The last time Seton Hall and Marquette met was in last sea- son's Big East Championship, when the Golden Eagles swept the Pirates.
"We want another shot at them," Manthorpe said. "We want to see if we can play well and keep up with them."
According to Yaeger the matches between Marquette always get the players hyped up.
"When playing Marquette our girls always get real fired up," Yeager said. "I've been here for six years now and every time we play Marquette, Marquette gets fired up, and we get fired up."
Marquette heads into the match 5-0 in conference play.
Manthorpe said the team needs to play tough from the beginning to be successful against Marquette.
"I think that we just have to stay focused from point one," Manthorpe said. "Just play really hard from every single point during the match, and I think that will make us successful."
Yaeger said the team needs to come together and be attentive in the match against Marquette.
"We really need to stay focused," Yeager said. "We need to have a sense of urgency right from the beginning. We watch a lot of film on Marquette to pre- pare, and we need to stick to the game plan that we have. Especially with the recent losses, we need to pay attention to our side of the net."
Courtney Hnasko can be reached at Courtney.Hnasko@ student.shu.edu
