No. 11 MU Welcomes Syracuse and No. 17 Baylor for Home Opener

MILWAUKEE – Fresh off a 3-2 comeback win at No. 4 Wisconsin on Thursday, the 11^th-ranked Marquette volleyball team is set for its 2019 homeopener at the Al McGuire Center on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 12:30 CT against Syracuse. The Golden Eagles will complete the weekend hosting No. 17 Baylor on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 1 p.m. CT.

Marquette has opened the 2019 campaign with a 4-0 record, which is the best start since the 1992 squad also opened 4-0. MU has taken down top-10 opponents in back-to-back matches with a 3-1 win at then No. 9 BYU in opening weekend, followed by the 3-2 victory over the Badgers.

Allie Barber is leading the Golden Eagles with 4.47 kills per set, while Hope Werch is off to a hot start as she averages 3.27 kills per set and has just nine errors to hit .444 and also adding 2.47 digs per set.

Both matches will stream for free on GoMarquette.com.

WHERE TO WATCH/FOLLOW THE ACTION
VIDEO: https://gomarquette.com/watch/?Live=72&type=Live (Syracuse)
https://gomarquette.com/watch/?Live=73&type=Live (Baylor)
LIVE STATS: https://gomarquette.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary

OPPONENTS
SYRACUSE (0-1): The Orange fell in a three-set sweep to Baylor on Thursday afternoon in Madison, which was the first game of the season and are one of just 12 teams in the nation that open their first two matches against ranked opponents. Against the Bears, Syracuse was led by Polina Shemanova led the Orange in kills (10) and digs (13). Sophomore setter Elena Karakasi handed out 19 assists. Syracuse reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2018, falling to No. 8 Penn State.

Marquette owns a 7-4 record against Syracuse and defeated the Orange 3-0 in Milwaukee a year ago.

No. 17 BAYLOR (3-0): The Bears will face No. 4 Wisconsin in Madison on Friday evening before traveling East to Milwaukee to take on the Golden Eagles. In a sweep over Syracuse, Baylor hit .349 combined as a team totaling just eight errors on the night. Yossiana Pressley led with 11 kills.

Baylor is 1-0 in the series with Marquette after defeating the Golden Eagles, 3-1 in Waco in the opening weekend of the 2018 season.

WHAT THE TEAM IS SAYING:
"We knew we could pull this off, but I think we were really gritty and we stuck with it and it showed winning in five. We are running high on emotions right now. We know Wisconsin is a great team with great fans and they are great offensively. They have a big block and it showed in the match. As pin hitters we had to work on shots we weren't used to. At times it was frustrating, but we were able to pull it off."

-Allie Barber, Senior Outside Hitter

STORYLINES:

At 4-0 Marquette is off to its best start in 27 years, matching a 4-0 start by the 1992 team.
The Golden Eagles defeated Wisconsin for the first time in program history on Thursday night, and at No. 4, the Badgers are the highest-ranked team that Marquette has defeated.
For the first time MU has toppled two top-10 programs and in consecutive matches, marking the fourth top-10 program defeated in history, all wins coming on the road.
Marquette jumped five spots in the Week One AVCA Coaches Poll. It's No. 11 ranking marks the highest rank in program history.
The Golden Eagles earned their third top-10 win in program history on Saturday with a 3-1 win at then-No. 9 BYU. Marquette earned a 3-2 victory over No. 7 Florida in 2014 and a 3-1 win at No. 7 USC in the 2016 opener.
Junior Kaitlyn (KJ) Lines was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week after helping lead Marquette in Provo. She connected on 3.70 kills per set, while hitting .413.
Head coach Ryan Theis is in his sixth season at the helm of the Golden Eagles and owns a 267-101 career record with a 123-47 mark at Marquette.
Theis is the 17^th winningest coach in Division I with a .723 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.
For the first time in program history the Golden Eagles will begin the season ranked, checking in at No. 16 in the AVCA preseason coaches poll. Marquette spent every week last season ranked or receiving votes in the poll, finishing with a program-best No. 15 ranking in the final poll of the year.
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 plays a tough non-conference schedule and will face 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. Currently, BIG EAST foe Creighton is ranked No. 23 in the poll. The Golden Eagles will have their first chance to knock off the reigning league champions on Saturday, Oct. 12 in Milwaukee.
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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