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Thursday, December 1
Milwaukee, Wis.
7 p.m. CT

Marquette University

vs

Ball State University

Game Coverage:
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2022 NCAA First Round

Volleyball welcomes Ball State in Thursday's NCAA First Round

11/29/2022 9:28:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Interactive BracketNCAA Bracket (PDF)Match Notes (PDF)Watch Live (Thursday)

The Golden Eagles will host matches at the Al for the first time since 2018

By: Communications

Match Notes (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The fourth-seeded and No. 16 Marquette University women's volleyball team hosts Ball State on Thursday at 7 p.m. Central time in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship at the Al McGuire Center.

The Golden Eagles earned an at-large berth out of the BIG EAST Conference and will host matches for the second time and first since 2018. Fifth-seeded and No. 13 Georgia Tech faces Wright State in the other first round contest at 4 p.m. CT.

The winners of Thursday's first round matches will meet on Friday in the NCAA Second Round at 6 p.m. CT at the Al McGuire Center.

All three matches will air live on ESPN+ with Bob Brainerd (play-by-play) and Michelle Griffin-Wenzel on the call.

All-session ($10) and single-session ($6) general admission tickets can be purchased online, or by calling the Marquette Ticket Office at 414-288-4668. For questions, call or email athletics@marquette.edu.

Links to live statistics will be available on GoMarquette.com through StatBroadcast.

Thursday, Dec. 1 (ESPN+)
4 p.m. – [5] No. 13 Georgia Tech vs. Wright State
7 p.m. – [4] No. 16 Marquette vs. Ball State

Friday, Dec. 2 (ESPN+)
6 p.m. – Second Round

No. 16 MARQUETTE (27-3, No. 4 seed):
  • The Golden Eagles earned their second BIG EAST regular season title in as many years and fell to Creighton, 3-2, in the conference tournament title match on Saturday. Marquette captured the first set against the Bluejays and used a 33-31 marathon fourth set to push the match into a deciding fifth frame.
  • Led by BIG EAST Setter of the Year Yadhira Anchante, Marquette boasts the league's top offense and one of the top-10 nationally. The Golden Eagles enter the NCAA tournament sixth in NCAA Division I with a .293 hitting percentage, seventh nationally in kills per set (14.52) and ninth in assists per frame (13.43).
  • MU is also the BIG EAST leader in service aces (1.76 per set is 36th nationally) and ranks second in opponent hitting percentage (.179).
  • Anchante is joined in the MU lineup by five other All-BIG EAST performers in middle blockers Carsen Murray and Hattie Bray, outside hitters Aubrey Hamilton and Jenna Reitsma, while right-side hitter Ella Foti joined Bray on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.
  • Hamilton was named to the All-BIG EAST Championship team after averaging 4.75 kills and 2.63 digs per set against UConn and Creighton while hitting .263 with three service aces and six blocks. Hamilton was joined on the all-tournament team by Skrabak, while Murray also had a phenomenal weekend herself, hitting .645 (21-1-31) with 2.63 kills and 1.13 blocks per set to boost her league-best hitting percentage to third nationally at .442.
  • Marquette, which had to replace five starters from last season, began the year with a win at then-No. 11 Kentucky on Aug. 26 and compiled a 3-3 record against ranked foes in 2022.
  • MU's 26 regular season victories are a program record, as are its 17 conference victories.
  • The Golden Eagles are one win shy of tying a program record for overall wins set in both 2018 and 2019.
MARQUETTE NCAA HISTORY:
  • The MU women's volleyball program joined NCAA Division I for the 1986 campaign and made its first appearance in the NCAA tournament in 2011. Since that time, the Golden Eagles have made 11 of the last 12 tournaments, with their lone absence coming in the spring of 2021 due to a reduced field.
  • In total, MU is 6-10 all-time in NCAA tournament play with five trips to the second round and one trip to the regional semifinals in 2018.
  • The Golden Eagles have won five first round matches and their lone win in the second round came in a sweep of Cincinnati at the Al McGuire Center on Dec. 1, 2018.
  • MU is 0-5 against seeded teams (Overall Nos. 1-through-16).
  • In 2021 NCAA first round action, Marquette fell to Dayton, 3-1 in West Lafayette, Indiana at Holloway Gymnasium on Purdue's campus.
THEIS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT:
  • Twelve of Theis' 15 teams have earned NCAA tournament berths and five have won at least one postseason match.
  • Since taking the reigns at Marquette for the 2014 campaign, he's led eight of his nine teams to NCAA competition and did so at Ohio in four of his six seasons.
BALL STATE (24-8):
  • Ball State enters the NCAAs coming off a five-set loss to Bowling Green in the Mid-American Conference title match after winning its second straight regular season title with a 15-3 record.
  • The Cardinals are 11-6 away from home this season and in non-conference play defeated Oklahoma and Alabama, while falling to Mississippi State and then-No. 10 Purdue.
  • Senior middle blocker Marie Plitt leads Ball State with 327 total kills (2.66 per set) on a .407 hitting percentage. Plitt earned All-MAC First Team honors this season along with junior outside hitter Cait Snyder and sophomore setter Megan Wielonski.
  • Syner leads the Cardinals with 3.27 kills per set and Wielonski posted 10.82 assists per set as the MAC Setter of the Year.
  • The Cardinals have made three NCAA appearances in the last four years under MAC Coach of the Year Kelli Miller Phillips and are making their 11th appearance overall.
  • BSU is 3-10 in NCAA tournament play and defeated Michigan last season in the first round.
SERIES WITH THE CARDINALS: Marquette is 0-1 all-time against Ball State. The lone matchup was a sweep by the Cardinals in 1990 at the Eastern Michigan Quad.

No. 13 GEORGIA TECH (20-7, No. 5 seed):
  • Georgia Tech went 13-5 in the ACC and rose to as high as fifth in the AVCA Coaches Poll this season.
  • The Yellow Jackets are led by senior outside hitter Julia Bergmann with an eye-popping 5.31 kills per set on .254 hitting. Bergmann is a four-time All-ACC First Team selection and a 2021 AVCA First Team All-American. She posted a season-best 38 kills in a reverse sweep against Florida State on Nov. 6 and is third nationally in kills per set.
  • Bergmann was joined on the all-conference first team by middle hitter Breland Morrissette, who leads the ACC in hitting percentage (.434) and ranks seventh nationally.
  • The Yellow Jackets are hitting a combined .257 as a team (good for third in the ACC), while holding their opponents to a mark of .176.
SERIES WITH THE YELLOW JACKETS: Marquette and Georgia Tech have never met.

WRIGHT STATE (28-3):
  • The Raiders enter the week riding a 23-match winning streak and haven't lost a match since Sept. 10 to Iowa State.
  • They went a perfect 18-0 in Horizon League play and defeated Northern Kentucky in the Horizon title match to claim the league's automatic NCAA berth.
  • Wright State is making its third NCAA appearance in the last four seasons and is led by reigning-four-time Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year Jenna Story, who ranks 12th nationally with 5.36 digs per set.
  • Sam Ott averages 2.85 kills per set to lead a balanced offensive attack for the Raiders, who boast four players with at least 2.50 kills per frame.
  • First-year head coach Travers Green was the Horizon League Coach of the Year, while Taylor Bransfield and Callie Martin joined Horizon League Setter of the Year Lainey Stephenson and Story on the all-conference first team.
SERIES WITH THE RAIDERS: Marquette is 2-3 all-time against Wright State, with the most recent matchup a MU sweep on Sept. 17, 2021 at the Al McGuire Center. Murray posted six blocks for the Golden Eagles, who hit .280 overall, including .349 in the opening set. The Raiders hit just .118 in the contest.

Keep up with the Marquette University women's volleyball program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteVB) and Instagram (@MarquetteVB) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteVolleyball).