MU Ready to Face Dayton in First Round of NCAA Tournament

MILWAUKEE – The 16^th-ranked Marquette volleyball team has earned a ninth-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth and will travel to West Lafayette, Indiana for the first and second rounds. The Golden Eagles are set to take on Dayton on Friday, Dec. 6 at 3:30 p.m. CT with the winner to face either No. 16 Purdue or Wright State on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. CT.

Both matches will stream for free on BTN+.

MU owns a 27-5 record heading into the tournament, one-win shy of its program-record 28 wins set in the 2018 campaign. This is the ninth straight season with 20-or more victories.

BIG EAST Player of the Year Allie Barber leads the team with 4.67 kills per set, which ranks 15^th in the NCAA, while the Golden Eagles ranks second in the country as a team with a combined 14.90 kills per set. MU also ranks second in the NCAA dishing out 14.16 combined assists as a team.

WATCH LIVE/FOLLOW THE ACTION:
VIDEO –(Dayton Match) https://www.btnplus.com/game/ncaa-1st-round-dayton-vs-marquette
(Second Round) https://www.btnplus.com/game/ncaa-2nd-round
LIVE STATS – (Dayton) https://www.ncaa.com/game/3909386

OPPONENTS:
Dayton (22-8, 13-1 Atlantic-10): The Flyers are coming off an Atlantic-10 Tournament Championship performance as they defeated VCU 3-1. Leading the way for Dayton is redshirt sophomore Jamie Peterson who owns 511 kills on the year, 16th in the NCAA. She was also named A-10 Player of the Year while averaging 4.76 kills per set. Rookie Amelia Moore was named A-10 Freshman of the Year as she had a hitting percentage of .296. Other notable players include Josie Vondran who is averaging 4.70 assists per set, and Libero Maura Collins who averages 4.36 digs per set. Some noteworthy games on the year for the Flyers include a victory over No. 14 Michigan on Sep. 7, a loss to No. 25 Louisville on Sep. 1, and a tight 3-2 loss to No. 10 Florida on Aug. 31.

Dayton owns a 20-7 all-time record in the series with Marquette, though the Golden Eagles won the most recent meeting, a 3-0 sweep on 8/29/15 in Ames, Iowa.

Purdue (22-7, 14-6 BIG TEN): Should the Golden Eagles face the Boilermakers, they will battle a team that has won seven of its last eight, the only loss coming at No. 8 Penn State. Caitlyn Newton leads the Boilermakers offensively with 389 total kills and 3.78 kills per set. Haley Bush ranks 30^th in the country with 1,182 total assists. On defense, Marissa Hornung racks up 3.85 digs per set. A few notable victories for Purdue include vs. No. 5 Nebraska, at No. 16 Kentucky, and at No. 23 Michigan.

Saturday would mark the third all-time meeting between Marquette and Purdue and the Boilermakers hold a 2-0 lead in the series.

Wright State (24-5, 13-3 Horizon League): Wright State is coming off of a tough 3-1 loss to Northern Kentucky in the Horizon League Championship but was on an eight-game win-streak prior. The Raiders are led by the duo of Celia Powers and Taylor Gibson who average 2.70 and 2.61 kills per set, respectively. Lainey Stephenson is another notable player as the averages 6.35 digs per set and has recorded over 1,000 kills on the season. This is the first NCAA Tournament appearance for the Raiders.

Wright State owns a 2-1 record in the all-time series with the Golden Eagles.

WHAT THE TEAM IS SAYING:
"It's going to be a competitive weekend for sure. Dayton is a really strong team with some talent. I'm sure they will be ready for us as I feel we are ready for them.
I enjoy playing the first match at these events. If we are fortunate enough to advance we get to watch and learn about our Saturday opponent up close and personal."
-Ryan Theis, Head Coach

STORYLINES:
· BIG EAST HONORS: The league office announced the 2019 season awards and MU senior Allie Barber was tabbed as BIG EAST Player of the Year, for the second time in her career. She was a unanimous selection by the BIG EAST coaches and is just the fourth player in 30 years to repeat the honor. Barber was also named to the All-BIG EAST team along with Martha Konovodoff and Hope Werch, while Hannah Vanden Berg was selected to the newly created All-BIG EAST freshman squad.
· HISTORY APPROACHING: At 27-5 overall Marquette is nearing its program-record 28 wins from last season. Three of The Golden Eagles' five losses have come to current No. 1 Baylor and No. 15 Creighton both home and away.
· SENIOR SUCCESS: The senior class of Allie Barber, Gwyn Jones, Madeline Mosher and Lauren Speckman have amassed 100 victories in their careers at Marquette and they are currently tied for the second-winningest class in MU program history. The record is 101 victories that the senior class of 2014 earned in their careers.
· TOURNAMENT STREAK: Marquette is in the NCAA Tournament for the ninth consecutive season. The Golden Eagles are one of 15 teams in the country that has an NCAA streak of at least eight straight appearances. (BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawaii, Kentucky, Marquette, Nebraska, Penn State, San Diego, Stanford, Texas, USC, Washington)
· AVCA POLL: The Golden Eagles move to No. 16 this week in the AVCA Coaches' Poll after they entered the poll ranked No. 16 in the preseason. This marks the 29^th consecutive week that Marquette has been ranked, dating back to Sept. 3, 2018.
· BIG EAST WEEKLY AWARDS: Marquette junior Hope Werch was on the final BIG EAST Honor Roll for the third week in a row. Werch led the Golden Eagles with 3.39 kills per set and 3.00 digs per set in games against Creighton and Providence last weekend. Werch also tallied 12 kills with two services aces and 10 digs against Creighton.
This is not the first time Marquette players have received BIG EAST honors.
Nov. 19: Hope Werch (BIG EAST Honor Roll) and Allie Barber (BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week); Nov. 12: Hope Werch (BIG EAST Honor Roll); Nov. 5: Allie Barber (BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week) and Martha Konovodoff (BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week ); Oct. 29: Allie Barber (BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week) and Hope Werch (Honor Roll); Oct. 22: Allie Barber (BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week); Oct.17: Allie Barber (BIG EAST Honor Roll); Oct. 15: Allie Barber (BIG EAST Honor Roll); Oct. 1: Allie Barber (Offensive Player of the Week) and Hope Werch (Honor Roll); Sept. 24: Allie Barber and Martha Konovodoff (Honor Roll); Sept. 16: Allie Barber (Offensive Player of the Week); Sept. 9: Hope Werch (Honor Roll); Sept. 3: Kaitlyn Lines (Offensive Player of the Week).
· BARBER NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD FINALIST: Senior Allie Barber was selected as one of 10 finalists for the 2019 Volleyball Senior CLASS Award. Nationwide fan voting is open through Dec. 2. Votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches' votes to determine the winner. Vote for Allie at: http://www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/volleyball_2019/
· BREAKING THE RECORD: Senior Allie Barber broke the all-time kills record in a 22-kill performance against Georgetown on Nov. 15. Barber passed Marquette Hall of Famer Theresa Coughlin, who played from 2002-05, and had 1,733 career kills. Currently owning 1,839 kills, Barber looks to bolster the record before the end of the season and graduating from Marquette.
· NATIONAL SCENE: The 6-2 offense has worked for the Golden Eagles as the squad is ranked second in assists averaging 14.16 per game. Lauren Speckman is handing out 6.80 assists per set, which is eighth in the BIG EAST, while Sarah Rose is handing out 4.98.
Marquette also ranks second in the NCAA in kills per set with 14.79, led by Allie Barber at 4.67 per set, which leads the BIG EAST and ranks 15th in the NCAA. The Golden Eagles are allowing just 11.8 kills per set from opponents.
· EXCLUSIVE COMPANY: Barber is one of just four players in the NCAA that average at least 4.68 kills per set, while also hitting at a .308 clip or above.
Jordan Thompson, Cincinnati: 6.43 kills/set, .348 hitting percentage
Chichi Ikwuazom, Columbia: 5.32 kills/set, .438 hitting percentage
Anett Nemeth, Coastal Carolina: 4.90 kills/set, .351 hitting percentage
Allie Barber, Marquette: 4.68 kills/set, .308 hitting percentage
· 20-WIN CAMPAIGN: The Golden Eagles reached their ninth consecutive 20-win season. MU recorded a program-record 28 victories in 2018.
· TOP-10 VICTORIES: The Golden Eagles have four top-10 wins in program history and have earned two top-15 road wins this season. MU defeated then- No. 4 Wisconsin on Sept. 5 for the first time in program history, which marked the highest-ranked team that Marquette has ever defeated. The squad also topped then- No. 13 BYU on Aug. 31. The Golden Eagles' other top-10 wins came in a 3-2 victory over No. 7 Florida in 2014 and a 3-1 win at No. 7 USC in the 2016 opener.
· THEIS STATS: Head coach Ryan Theis is in his sixth season at the helm of the Golden Eagles and owns a 290-106 career record with a 146-52 mark at Marquette.
· Theis is the 17th winningest coach in Division I with a .732 percentage through 11 seasons as a head coach. He has never had a season with fewer than 21 wins and the 28 victories for Marquette in 2018 was a career best in victories for Theis as head coach.
· Marquette is 24-20 in season openers and 6-0 in the Ryan Theis era.
· BIG EAST OPENERS: The Golden Eagles opened their 15th season of BIG EAST competition on Sept. 25 and own an 10-5 record in league lidlifters, including a 4-2 mark under Ryan Theis.
· OTHER NOTABLES:
· The Golden Eagles were picked to win the BIG EAST in the 2019 preseason coaches' poll, earning eight first-place votes, which is the second consecutive season that Marquette was selected first in preseason.
· Marquette played a tough non-conference schedule and faced four ranked opponents and two that are receiving votes in the AVCA preseason coaches' poll beginning at No. 9 BYU. MU also travels to No. 4 Wisconsin (Sept. 5), hosts No. 17 Baylor (Sept. 8) and takes on No. 6 Illinois (Sept. 15 at Illinois State). UCF (Sept. 13) and Northern Iowa (Sept. 21) are receiving votes in the poll. BIG EAST foe Creighton is ranked No. 11 in the poll.
· Senior Allie Barber was chosen as the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year for the second straight season, while juniors Hope Werch and Martha Konovodoff were selected to the preseason squad.
· Marquette added two transfers and two freshmen to the squad for the 2019 season. Gwyn Jones joins the Golden Eagles as a senior from Auburn, while Kaitlyn (KJ) Lines is a junior transferring from Pacific. Claire Nuessmeier (St. Peter, Minn.) and Hannah Vanden Berg (Little Chute, Wis.) round out the squad as freshmen.

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