Marquette volleyball team hosts Kansas and Western Michigan tonight and Sunday | WTAQ News & Talk | 97.5 FM · 1360 AM

(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 night match against the Jayhawks.

The first tip against KU is scheduled for just after 6:00 p.m. Central Time and will be broadcast live on FloSports with Bob Brainerd providing commentary in a Diederich College of Communications production. Brainerd will also call the KU-WMU game at the neutral site on Saturday afternoon before MU takes on the Broncos on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Live stats will be available for all three games via GoMarquette.com.

Friday’s game against the Jayhawks is Student Appreciation Night at the Al, with 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 pregame at 5:15 p.m. in the Al. Academic Center. The event is available exclusively to all season ticket holders and costs $20, which includes refreshments and light snacks. More information and a registration link will be sent to season ticket holders prior to each contest.

Marquette’s full 14-game regular season tickets are available for purchase for just $40. They can be purchased online or by calling the Marquette Box Office at 414-288-GOMU (4668).

Sunday’s contest is a Kids Club game with a Touch-A-Truck demonstration outside the Al featuring local emergency services vehicles.

Following this weekend’s games, MU travels to Bowling Green, Kentucky for the Hyatt Place Invitational at EA Diddle Arena on Sept. 13 and 14. MU faces tournament host WKU on Friday, Sept. 13 before a Saturday afternoon game against No. 22 Dayton.

No. 24 MARQUETTE (1-1)

• The Golden Eagles are 1-1 on the season after sweeping Eastern Illinois in the season opener last weekend and losing to No. 5 Stanford on Wednesday night at the Al McGuire Center.
• Outside attacker Aubrey Hamilton leads the Golden Eagles with 3.67 kills per set on a .304 hitting mark, while the middle blocker Hattie Bray She has recorded 3.17 kills per set and a .500 shooting percentage with six blocks.
• Hamilton and Bray each had three blocks against Stanford and recorded 12 and eight kills, respectively.
• The Golden Eagles are hitting .286 (80-24-196) this year and have already faced a pair of teams from last year’s NCAA tournament.
• MU began its 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 had 10 kills and an ace to go along with nine digs and a pair of blocks. MU hit a combined .322 in the match, including a .464 mark in the first set and .417 in the second.
• Sophomore Molly Berezowitz and junior Adriana Studer They served as MU’s two liberos following the NCAA change that allowed multiple liberos in each period. Both players made their first career appearances as liberos at EIU and Berezowitz recorded eight digs and a pair of service aces.
• The Golden Eagles were picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Conference Coaches’ Preseason Poll and four MU student-athletes were named to the league’s Preseason All-School Team, led by Hamilton, a unanimous selection. Yadhira Anchante and the central blockers Bray and Carsen Murray He also received a preseason recognition.
• Marquette is a three-time BIG EAST regular-season champion and made its 12th NCAA Tournament appearance in the past 13 seasons last fall (MU’s lone NCAA absence during 2020-21 was due to the reduced tournament field).

No. 13 KANSAS (4-0)

• The Jayhawks improved to 4-0 with a sweep of Wichita State on Wednesday night in Lawrence behind 14 kills from Ayah Elnady and a double-double from senior point guard 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 led KU against the Blue Devils with a career-high 22 kills and leads the team in 2024 with 3.46 kills per set on a .650 hitting mark to go along with 1.38 blocks per frame.
• In four matches, KU has a combined .346 average 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 all-team this summer along with Elnady and junior opposite London Davis. Middle blocker Zoey Burgess was a preseason freshman selection.
• Kansas is picked to finish first in the league’s preseason coaches poll, earning six first-place votes in the 15-team conference.
• Last season, KU went 24-6, including a 14-4 record in Big 12 play, 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.

KANSAS SERIES HISTORY:

• The Jayhawks have won all five previous meeting in program history, including last year’s 3-1 decision in Lawrence.
• Last year’s meeting at the Kansas Invitational came the day after a heartbreaking five-set loss to then-No. 25 Purdue after MU was on match point, 24-21, in the fourth set. MU gave KU a 4-0 lead to open the match the following afternoon but cruised to a 25-21 victory in the first set. The Jayhawks then won the next three sets, 25-20, 25-14, 25-19, for the win.
• Hamilton led MU with 13 kills and 10 digs in last year’s meet, while Camryn Turner had 41 assists and 12 digs for KU.
• The two teams will meet for the first time on Friday in Milwaukee. Three of the previous meetings have been played at neutral venues, plus two games at KU.

WEST MICHIGAN (2-1)

• The Broncos are 2-1 after opening their season at home with wins over Loyola Marymount and Loyola Chicago, along with a four-set loss to Clemson.
• WMU and Kansas will play at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Al McGuire Center in a neutral-site game on FloSports before the MU-WMU game on Sunday afternoon.
• Julia Marr paces WMU’s offense with 3.75 kills per set, while four other players average at least 2.00 kills per set. Keona Salesman is hitting .274 through the first three matches and is averaging 3.33 kills.
• The Broncos were outhit .218 to .205 in the first weekend of play and their opponents recorded a total of 29 blocks in 12 sets.
• Western Michigan had one of its best seasons in program history in 2023 with a 31-3 record and an 18-0 record in Mid-American Conference play. The Broncos won the MAC tournament crown and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating seventh-seeded Auburn.
• WMU is the unanimous preseason MAC favorite, and four players were named preseason All-MAC: setter Logan Case, libero Andelyn Simkins and outside hitters Salesman and Anna Calcagno.
• Colleen Munson is in her 20th season as head coach at Kalamazoo.

HISTORY OF THE SERIES 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 last swept the Broncos at home on Oct. 9, 2012, and has won two of the last three games in the series.
• Marquette has yet to face WMU under Ryan Theiswho was a two-time MAC Coach of the Year in Ohio (2009 and 2013) before heading to MU.