No. 24 Volleyball sweeps Eastern Illinois in Season Opener

Box Score (PDF)

CHARLESTON, Illinois – The No. 24 Marquette University women's volleyball team opened its 50th season of competition on Friday evening at Groniger Arena with a sweep of Eastern Illinois University, 25-16, 25-13, 25-21.

The Golden Eagles (1-0) landed 10 aces over the three sets and hit a combined .322 (41-12-90). They were led by 11 kills and three blocks from middle hitter Hattie Bray, while Aubrey Hamilton posted 10 kills, nine digs, a pair of blocks and a service ace.

MU senior defensive specialist Samantha Naber recorded a career-high four service aces, all in the second set. Naber's first three aces came consecutively as MU jumped out to an early 5-1 lead before EIU called its first timeout of the frame. MU went up 9-1 and closed out the stanza while hitting .417.

Senior outside hitter Kaitlyn Flynn led the Panthers (0-1) with 10 kills, but EIU hit just .111 (28-17-99) for the match. MU held the Panthers to hitting marks under .100 in each of the final two stanzas.

NOTES:

Marquette junior right-side hitter Sienna Ifill made her first career start. She posted two kills and a pair of digs.
Junior Adriana Studer and sophomore Molly Berezowitz served as MU's two liberos. New NCAA rules this year allowed for two liberos to don the alternate jersey in each frame.
MU hit a match-high .464 (16-3-28) in the opening set and was paced by five kills from Hamilton.
MU senior outside Jenna Reitsma hit .300 with eight kills, 10 digs and a pair of aces.
The contest was a rematch of the first round of the 2023 NCAA tournament in West Lafayette, Indiana, a match the Golden Eagles swept to advance to the NCAA Second Round for the seventh time. MU hit a combined .362 in last season's meeting with 11 total blocks and nine aces in just three sets. Outside hitters Jenna Reitsma (.423; 13-2-26; 3 aces) and Aubrey Hamilton (.346; 10-1-26; 6 digs) paced MU offensively, while middle blocker Carsen Murray notched nine blocks.
Over the six sets MU and EIU have played in the last two seasons, MU has posted 19 service aces.
Last season, EIU made its first NCAA appearance since 2001 when current MU head coach Ryan Theis was its top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Theis began his coaching career at EIU and spent two seasons with the Panthers before earning his master's degree in 2002 in athletic administration/sport management.
Marquette is 4-11 all-time against the Panthers, though the two programs have played just three since 2000. The two teams met nearly every season from 1981-92 and Eastern Illinois won all 10 meetings during that time.
MU has won four of the last five meetings in the series and the most recent match was a Marquette sweep in the 2023 NCAA First Round at Holloway Gymnasium in West Lafayette, Indiana.
EIU is picked to finish second in the OVC Preseason poll and setter Catalina Rochaix was selected to the OVC Preseason Team. Rochaix notched just nine assists on Friday while playing as part of a 6-2 offensive system.
Flynn was a teammate of MU sophomore Ella Holmstrom at Guilford High School in Rockford, Illinois.
The 2024 campaign marks MU's 50th season of competition. The first season of women's volleyball at Marquette was played during the 1975-76 academic year and MU has grown into a perennial NCAA tournament participant and four-time BIG EAST champion.

UP NEXT: The Golden Eagles are off for the rest of Labor Day Weekend before hosting No. 5 Stanford on Wednesday, Sept. 4 at the Al McGuire Center. MU also hosts No. 13 Kansas and Western Michigan over the weekend of Sept. 6-8. Marquette requests that fans wear gold to the home opener against the Cardinal in support of the fight against sarcoma, from which MU President Dr. Michael R. Lovell passed away earlier this year. Fans can donate online in memory of President Lovell to fund sarcoma research.

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