Marquette volleyball begins campaign against Illinois State

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MILWAUKEE – The No. 20 Marquette University women's volleyball team begins the 2020-21 campaign against Illinois State on Friday and Saturday at the Al McGuire Center.

First serve in the season opener on Friday night is set for 5:30 p.m., while Saturday's matinee is slated for 1 p.m. Both matches will stream live on GoMarquette.com/watch with Patrick Reed (play-by-play) and Michelle Griffin-Wenzel on the call. Live stats will also be available.

The Golden Eagles begin their season with two home matches before hitting the road for four contests prior to a three-team event at the Al on Feb. 25-27 to close out non-conference action.

Marquette was picked second in the BIG EAST Conference Midwestern Division by a mere point while sophomore Hannah Vanden Berg and seniors Hope Werch and Taylor Wolf were chosen to the preseason team.

Vanden Berg, a 2019 All-BIG EAST Freshman team pick, and Werch, an All-BIG EAST selection and a member of the AVCA All-East Coast Region team, are the top returning players for MU.

Wolf transferred to Marquette during the offseason from Green Bay where she earned numerous career accolades, including AVCA Honorable Mention All-American and was two-time Horizon League Player of the Year.

The Marquette roster also added four other transfers for the 2020-21 campaign in Breyan Ashley from St. Mary's (Calif.), Savannah Rennie from the University of California-Berkeley, libero Carly Skrabak from Tennessee Tech and setter Caroline Dragani from Portland State.

The Golden Eagles have posted back-to-back 28-win seasons and advanced to the last nine NCAA tournaments. The team must replace the squad's all-time kills leader in AVCA All-American Allie Barber, who graduated last May and was the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for women's volleyball.

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).