(MARQUETTE COMMUNICATIONS) MILWAUKEE – The No. 24 Marquette University women’s volleyball team hosts No. 13 Kansas and Western Michigan this weekend at the Al McGuire Center beginning with a Friday evening contest against the Jayhawks.
First serve against KU is slated for just after 6 p.m. Central time and airs live on FloSports with Bob Brainerd on the call in a Diederich College of Communications production. Brainerd will also call the KU-WMU neutral site contest on Saturday afternoon before MU faces the Broncos on Sunday at 1 p.m. Live statistics will be available for all three matches through GoMarquette.com.
Friday’s match against the Jayhawks is Student Appreciation Night at the Al, featuring free Chick-fil-a sandwiches for the first 100 students and a free limited edition Iggy mascot pin for the first 100 fans in attendance.
MU hosts its first Coach’s Corner with Ryan Theis prior to the match at 5:15 p.m. in the Al’s academic center. The event is exclusively available to all season ticket holders and costs $20, which includes refreshments and light snacks. More information and a registration link will be communicated with season ticket members prior to each contest.
Season tickets for Marquette’s full 14-match regular season schedule are available to purchase for just $40. They can be bought online or by calling the Marquette Ticket Office at 414-288-GOMU (4668).
Sunday’s contest is a Kids Club match with a Touch-A-Truck demonstration outside the Al featuring local emergency services vehicles.
Following this weekend’s matches, MU travels to Bowling Green, Kentucky for the Hyatt Place Invitational at E.A. Diddle Arena on Sept. 13-14. MU faces tournament host WKU on Friday, Sept. 13 before a Saturday afternoon match against No. 22 Dayton.
No. 24 MARQUETTE (1-1)
- The Golden Eagles sit at 1-1 on the season following a season-opening sweep of Eastern Illinois last weekend and a loss to No. 5 Stanford on Wednesday evening at the Al McGuire Center.
- Outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton leads the Golden Eagles with 3.67 kills per set on a hitting mark of .304, while middle blocker Hattie Bray has posted 3.17 kills per set and a hitting percentage of .500 with six blocks.
- Hamilton and Bray each had three blocks against Stanford and posted 12 and eight kills, respectively.
- The Golden Eagles are hitting .286 (80-24-196) this year and have already faced a pair of NCAA tournament teams from a year ago.
- MU began the 2024 campaign with a 25-16, 25-13, 25-21 sweep of Eastern Illinois on Friday, Aug. 30. Bray hit .562 (11-2-16) and led Marquette with 11 kills and three blocks, while Hamilton landed 10 kills and an ace alongside nine digs and a pair of blocks. MU hit a combined .322 in the match, including a mark of .464 in the first set and .417 in the second.
- Sophomore Molly Berezowitz and junior Adriana Studer have served as MU’s two liberos following the NCAA’s change to allow for multiple liberos each stanza. Both players made their first career appearances as libero at EIU and Berezowitz posted eight digs and a pair of service aces.
- The Golden Eagles are picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Conference preseason coaches’ poll and four MU student-athletes were named to the league’s preseason team, led by Hamilton, a unanimous selection. Setter Yadhira Anchante and middle blockers Bray and Carsen Murray also received preseason recognition.
- Marquette is a three-time reigning BIG EAST regular season champion and made its 12th NCAA tournament appearance in the last 13 seasons last fall (MU’s lone NCAA miss during 2020-21 was due to the tightened tournament field).
No. 13 KANSAS (4-0)
- The Jayhawks improved to 4-0 with a sweep of Wichita State on Wednesday evening in Lawrence behind 14 kills from Ayah Elnady and a double-double from senior setter Camryn Turner.
- Kansas began the year on Friday, Aug. 30 with a sweep of South Carolina before defeating Duke, 3-1, in Durham on Aug. 31. Senior middle Toyosi Onabanjo paced KU against the Blue Devils with a career-best 22 kills and leads the squad in 2024 with 3.46 kills per set on a hitting mark of .650 alongside 1.38 blocks per frame.
- Through four matches, KU is hitting a combined .346 with averages of 14.31 kills and 2.92 blocks per set.
- Turner was the Big 12 Setter of the Year last season and an AVCA All-American. She was named to the Big 12 Preseason Team this summer alongside Elnady and junior opposite London Davis. Middle blocker Zoey Burgess was selected preseason freshman of the year.
- Kansas is selected to finish first in the league’s preseason coaches’ poll, garnering six-first place votes in the 15-team conference.
- KU went 24-6 last season, including a 14-4 Big 12 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament before falling to Penn State.
- Kansas is led by five-time Big 12 Coach of the Year Ray Bechard in his 27th season in charge.
SERIES HISTORY WITH KANSAS:
- The Jayhawks have won all five previous meetings in program history, including last year’s 3-1 decision in Lawrence.
- Last year’s meeting in the Kansas Invitational came the day following a heart-breaking five-set loss to then-No. 25 Purdue after MU sat at match point, 24-21, in the fourth set. MU spotted KU a 4-0 lead to open the match the next afternoon but pulled out a 25-21 opening set win. The Jayhawks then captured the next three frames, 25-20, 25-14, 25-19, for the win.
- Hamilton led MU with 13 kills and 10 digs in last year’s meeting while Camryn Turner had 41 assists and 12 digs for KU.
- Friday marks the first matchup between the two squads in Milwaukee. Three of the previous meetings have come at neutral sites in addition to two games at KU.
WESTERN MICHIGAN (2-1)
- The Broncos are 2-1 after opening their season at home with wins over Loyola Marymount and Loyola Chicago, coupled with a four-set loss to Clemson.
- WMU and Kansas will play at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Al McGuire Center in a neutral site match on FloSports before the MU-WMU match on Sunday afternoon.
- Julia Marr paces the WMU offense with 3.75 kills per set, while four other players average at least 2.00 kills per frame. Keona Salesman is hitting .274 through the first three matches and averages 3.33 kills.
- The Broncos were out-hit .218 to .205 in the first weekend of play and their opponents posted a total of 29 blocks in 12 sets.
- Western Michigan posted one of its best seasons in program history in 2023 with a 31-3 record and a 18-0 ledger in Mid-American Conference play. The Broncos won the MAC tournament crown and advanced to the NCAA Second Round after defeating seventh-seeded Auburn.
- WMU is the unanimous preseason MAC favorite, and four players were named Preseason All-MAC in setter Logan Case, libero Andelyn Simkins and outside hitters Salesman and Anna Calcagno.
- Colleen Munson is in her 20th season as head coach in Kalamazoo.
SERIES HISTORY WITH WMU:
- MU has split its all-time series with Western Michigan, 4-4, following a 1-1 tie in the first meeting on Sept. 28, 1979 in East Lansing, Michigan.
- Marquette swept the last contest against the Broncos at home on Oct. 9, 2012 and has won two of the last three matches in the series.
- Marquette has yet to face WMU under Ryan Theis, who was a two-time MAC Coach of the Year at Ohio (2009 and 2013) before heading to MU.
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