No. 24 Volleyball falls to No. 5 Stanford

Box Score (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The No. 24 Marquette University women's volleyball team fell to No. 5 Stanford, 25-18, 25-17, 25-22, on Wednesday evening in its home opener at the Al McGuire Center.

The Golden Eagles (1-1) honored late MU President Dr. Michael R. Lovell with a pregame moment of silence and during the match by wearing the University's athletic gold, similar to yellow ribbons signifying sarcoma and other forms of bone cancer.

Outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton led Marquette with 12 kills and three blocks, while hitting .312 (12-2-32). Redshirt junior middle blocker Hattie Bray hit .438 with eight kills and three blocks herself.

The Cardinal (4-0) was paced by 14 kills from Ipar Kurt, while two others, Ella Rubin and Jordyn Harvey, reached double figures with 12 and 11, respectively. Kurt also landed two of Stanford's four service aces in the match.

MU hit .429 (16-1-35) in a tight final frame, but Stanford out posted a side-out percentage of 86% on .421 hitting efficiency. For the match, the Cardinal outhit MU, .373 to .255.

NOTABLE:

The Golden Eagles encouraged all fans to wear gold at the match to celebrate the life and memory of the University's late President Dr. Michael R. Lovell, who passed away in June after a battle with sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that develops in bones and soft tissues. Dr. Lovell was a tremendous champion of the University and greater Milwaukee community. He served at Marquette for 10 years and was a strong supporter of its student-athletes. Those wishing to donate to sarcoma research or the University's Lovell Fund can do so through Give Campus.
Stanford opened the season with a sweep at the Klotsche Center against Milwaukee and claimed a pair of wins over No. 18 Minnesota, 3-2, and No. 6 Wisconsin, 3-1, in the State Farm Women's College Volleyball Showcase at Fiserv Forum. The Cardinal was selected second with three first place votes in the Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, behind Pitt, a squad MU will face on the road on Sept. 22.
MU and Stanford have met on just two previous occasions and the Cardinal won both, a sweep in 2005 in Boulder, Colorado and a 3-1 win in the last meeting on Sept. 4, 2010 at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal won the 2010 match-up by hitting .316 with seven blocks. The Golden Eagles pulled out the second set, 25-17, to tie the match at the break in Stanford. Senior middle Rabbecka Gonyo paced the Golden Eagles in that contest with 12 kills and three blocks while hitting .476. Classmate Nikki Klingsporn had 33 assists, 12 digs and three blocks. Stanford went 27-4 in that 2010 season and advanced to the NCAA regional finals. MU was one of the first few teams out of the tournament that year and made its first NCAA appearance the following season.
The 2024 campaign marks MU's 50th season of competition and 20th season in the BIG EAST Conference. 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: MU hosts No. 13 Kansas and Western Michigan this weekend. The match against the Jayhawks is slated for 6 p.m. on Friday, while Sunday's matinee against the Broncos begins at 1 p.m.

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).