No. 19 Volleyball hosts No. 25 Illinois and Illinois State

Match Notes (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The No. 19 Marquette University women's volleyball team hosts No. 25 Illinois and Illinois State this weekend for non-conference matches at the Al McGuire Center.

The Golden Eagles face the Illini at 6 p.m. on Saturday before a 1 p.m. Sunday contest against the Redbirds.

Both matches air live on FloSports with Bob Brainerd on the call. Michelle Griffin-Wenzel joins Brainerd as an analyst for Saturday's match.

Illinois and Illinois State also square off in a neutral site match at 10 a.m. on Saturday at the Al. Admission to the neutral site match is free and the contest is streamed live on the Marquette Athletics YouTube channel.

Saturday's match against the Illini is MU's Gold Out. Fans are encouraged to wear gold in support of the fight against pediatric cancer.

Live statistics for all three matches are available through GoMarquette.com.

No. 19 MARQUETTE (7-1): The Golden Eagles have won five-straight matches after a Sept. 2 loss at then-No. 6 Wisconsin, including their first four home matches of the year.

MU has picked up consecutive sweeps over in-state foes Milwaukee and Green Bay, and Saturday marks the fifth game in its season-long 10-match homestand.

Outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton leads the Golden Eagles with 94 kills (3.13 per set) on the year, while setter Yadhira Anchante has helped MU hit a BIG EAST-best .269. Marquette is also second in assists in the league and second in service aces, despite not posting a single ace in the five-set win over then-No. 11 Kentucky to open the year.

Individually, MU has a trio of players ranked third in the BIG EAST in three major statistical categories. Ella Foti currently sits third among qualified players in hitting percentage (.367), Anchante in assists per frame (10.03) and Carsen Murray in blocks per set (1.10).

Murray was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday afternoon.

No. 25 ILLINOIS (5-3): The Illini have won four-straight matches after a four-set loss to then-No. 14 Washington in Colorado on Sept. 4. U of I has claimed sweeps in each of its last three contests, including a match against Villanova on Sept. 10 and a contest at Eastern Illinois on Wednesday evening.

Junior outside hitter Raina Terry leads Illinois with 95 kills (3.52 per set), while senior Jessica Nunge has 84 (3.11 per set) on .256 hitting. Middle Rynee Hinton paces the Illini in both hitting percentage (.477) and blocks (1.58 per set).

Illinois head coach Chris Tamas is in his sixth season in Champaign and has led the Illini to four NCAA tournament appearances and a Final Four appearance in 2018.

SERIES WITH ILLINOIS: Marquette is 0-6 all-time against the Illini and dropped the most recent meeting to then-No. 14 Illinois in five sets on Sept. 14, 2019 at Illinois State. MU and U of I have met twice in the NCAA tournament in Champaign in both 2013 and 2018. The Golden Eagles' last win over a Big Ten squad came at then-No. 4 Wisconsin on Sept. 5, 2019.

ILLINOIS STATE (6-3): ISU was swept by Memphis in its last match on Saturday and lost its lone lone power conference matchup this season to Florida State in four sets. The Redbirds swept the Redbird Classic defeating Oral Roberts, Green Bay and SEMO at Redbird Arena on Sept. 2-3.

ISU went 19-14 record last fall, sweeping both the MVC regular season and conference tournament championships. The Redbirds eventually fell to Purdue in the NCAA first round.

Illinois State is led by 2021 MVC Tournament MVP Kaitlyn Prondzinski with 113 kills (3.23 K/S) and an impressive .313 hitting percentage.

SERIES WITH ILLINOIS STATE: Marquette owns a 5-3 series lead over Illinois State, with the most recent matchup coming last fall at Redbird Arena, resulting in a MU sweep in the Red & White Invitational. This match saw Marquette's Hope Werch reach 1,000 career kills in the match and became the only player in Marquette history with 1,000 kills, 1,000 digs, and 150 aces.

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).