No. 24 Volleyball drops 3-1 decision to No. 13 Kansas

Box Score (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The No. 24 Marquette University women's volleyball team won the first set before falling in four to No. 13 Kansas on Friday evening at the Al McGuire Center, 21-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-15.

The Golden Eagles received a 14 kills from Aubrey Hamilton, while middle blockers Carsen Murray and Hattie Bray each had 11 kills and combined for a hitting mark of .385 (22-2-26). Three MU players had double-digit digs, led by a career-best evening from sophomore libero Molly Berezowitz with 15.

Marquette hit .350 (18-4-40) in the first frame, paced by six kills from Jenna Reitsma and five apiece from Hamilton and Murray.

The Jayhawks (5-0) rebounded from a .184 (13-6-38) hitting efficiency in the first to hit .519 (15-1-27) in the second on their way to a 25-16 win. London Davis led KU in the frame with seven kills on nine swings.

MU had a chance to tie the third set late to retake the match advantage, but KU held the Golden Eagles at arms length to close. Marquette trailed 20-14 before it reeled off four-straight points on two kills apiece from Bray and Hamilton. MU was able to pull it to one, 22-21, on a Hamilton and Murray block, but KU called timeout and scored three of the final four points for the win.

KU combined to hit .321 (59-14-140) in the match and had four players with double figure kills, led by 14 from Ayah Elnady. Toyosi Onabanjo landed 12 kills and a match-best six blocks for the Jayhawks, who had 12 team blocks on the night

NOTABLE:

MU freshman Calli Kenny made her first career start and served the first two points. She made 11 service attempts as a serving sub and recorded one dig in the match.
MU senior defensive specialist Samantha Naber notched seven digs in her first start of the season.
All three Marquette matches this season have come against teams that competed in last fall's NCAA tournament.
Kansas is selected to finish first in the league's preseason coaches' poll, garnering six-first place votes in the 15-team conference. KU went 24-6 last season, including a 14-4 Big 12 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament before falling to Penn State.
The Jayhawks have won all six meetings in program history, including last year's 3-1 decision in Lawrence. Last season, MU spotted KU a 4-0 lead to open the match but pulled out a 25-21 opening set win. The Jayhawks then captured the next three frames, 25-20, 25-14, 25-19, for the win. Hamilton led MU with 13 kills and 10 digs in last year's meeting while Camryn Turner had 41 assists and 12 digs for KU.
Friday was the first matchup between the two squads in Milwaukee. Three of the previous meetings have come at neutral sites in addition to two games at KU.

UP NEXT: The Golden Eagles host Western Michigan at 1 p.m. Central time on Sunday at the Al McGuire Center after the Broncos square off with KU in a neutral site matchup on Saturday afternoon. Sunday's contest is a Kids Club match with a Touch-A-Truck demonstration outside the Al featuring local emergency services vehicles.

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).