Marquette University Athletics
Marquette University
Dayton
VB Heads to Ohio to Face Dayton, Wright State
8/27/2026 8:26:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Golden Eagles take first road trip of 2026 season.
The Marquette University volleyball team (0-1) will take their first road trip of the 2026 season this Friday and Saturday, Aug. 28-29, to Dayton, Ohio for a pair of matches. MU opens the weekend with RV Dayton (0-0) on Friday, and will face off with Wright State (0-0) on Saturday. Both matches start at 6 p.m. CT, and will be streamed on ESPN+.
LAST TIME OUT
Marquette pushed No. 2 Texas to the limit in its 2026 season opener, taking the Longhorns to five sets before falling 22-25, 25-19, 25-16, 23-25, 15-8 in the Jeep AVCA First Serve at Fiserv Forum. The Golden Eagles won the opening set and rallied to force a decisive fifth behind a strong defensive effort that produced a 12-10 edge in blocks. Carson Tyler led Marquette with 18 kills and nine digs, while Luanna Markus posted a double-double with 35 assists and 11 digs as the Golden Eagles battled one of the nation's top teams into the final set.
HISTORY VS. DAYTON/WRIGHT STATE
Marquette owns a 10-22 all-time record against Dayton but has won each of the last two meetings, including a 3-1 victory on Sept. 14, 2024, and a 3-2 neutral-site win in 2023. The Golden Eagles have also won two of their last three matchups against the Flyers dating back to 2019. Against Wright State, Marquette holds a 2-3 all-time mark and won the most recent meeting in straight sets on Sept. 17, 2021. This weekend marks the first meeting with Wright State in nearly five years.
SCOUTING THE FLYERS
Dayton enters the weekend after posting a 23-7 overall record and a perfect 18-0 mark in Atlantic 10 play in 2025. The Flyers were selected as the preseason favorite in the A-10 and return reigning league Player of the Year Kamryn Hunt, who averaged 4.05 kills per set last season. Head coach Tim Horsmon is in his 18th season leading one of the nation's most successful mid-major programs, as Dayton looks to return to the NCAA Tournament after missing the field in 2025.
SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Wright State posted a 21-11 overall record and a 13-5 mark in Horizon League play in 2025 before winning the Horizon League tournament and earning an NCAA Tournament berth. The Raiders return seven players who appeared in both the conference championship match and NCAA Tournament and were selected as the preseason favorite in the Horizon League entering the 2026 campaign.
BATTLE AT THE NET
Against Texas, Marquette held a 12-11 advantage in team blocks. The Golden Eagles recorded 24 block assists, led by six from freshman setter Luanna Markus and five apiece from Julia Stanev and Molly Welge. Marquette's blocking effort helped limit Texas to a .105 hitting percentage in the opening set and played a key role in extending the match to five sets.
MARKUS MAKES AN IMPRESSION
Freshman setter Luanna Markus filled the stat sheet in her collegiate debut, posting a double-double with 35 assists and 11 digs while adding two kills and a team-high six block assists. Markus directed an offense that produced 42 kills and showed her versatility by contributing in every phase of the match against a top-two opponent.
TYLER TAKES CHARGE IN MU DEBUT
Junior transfer Carson Tyler immediately established herself as Marquette's go-to attacker, finishing with a team-high 18 kills while adding nine digs, an ace and two block assists. Tyler accounted for nearly 43 percent of Marquette's kills and reached double figures for the 52nd time in her collegiate career. She recorded at least three kills in each of the first four sets and helped the Golden Eagles force a winner-take-all fifth set.
FRESHMEN ANSWER THE CALL
Marquette's freshman class played a significant role in the season opener. Markus recorded a double-double, Emi Juric led the team with 13 digs, Tani Juric added seven kills and seven digs, and Molly Welge contributed five block assists. The quartet combined for 46 assists, 31 digs, nine kills and 11 block assists against one of the nation's top-ranked teams.
DIGGING THE DEFENSIVE EFFORT
The Golden Eagles matched Texas with 59 digs and were led by freshman libero Emi Juric's 13-dig performance. Markus added 11 digs for a double-double, while Tyler and Allie Beers each recorded nine. Marquette placed four players with at least nine digs and held its own defensively against a Texas offense that finished with 65 kills.
WELCOME TO MARQUETTE
Several newcomers made strong first impressions in their Marquette debuts. Tyler led the team with 18 kills, Markus recorded a double-double, Emi Juric paced the defense with 13 digs and Tani Juric finished third on the team with seven kills. Newcomers accounted for 32 of Marquette's 42 kills, 42 of its 57 points and all of its three service aces in the season opener.
INTERNATIONAL TASTE
Marquette's 2026 roster features players from four countries outside the United States. Senior middle blocker Julia Stanev hails from Italy, while freshman setter Luanna Markus is from Brazil. The Golden Eagles also welcome freshman twin sisters Emi and Tani Juric from Slovenia, along with freshman middle blocker Berrak Sporeli of Turkey. The five international student-athletes represent four countries and bring experience from across the globe to Marquette's roster.
MARQUETTE QUICK-HITTERS
- Marquette returns just five players from its 2025 NCAA Tournament team, including sophomores Keira Schmidt, Avery Helms, Emma Parks and Annika Kowalski, along with senior Julia Stanev.
- The Golden Eagles welcome 10 newcomers in 2026, comprised of eight freshmen and two transfers.
- The Golden Eagles have seven players listed at 6-foot-2 or taller, including 6-foot-5 freshman opposite hitter Tani Juric.
- Sophomore middle blocker Keira Schmidt is Marquette's most experienced returning player after appearing in 29 matches and 105 sets as a freshman in 2025.
- Sophomore Emma Parks returns after averaging 1.77 kills per set and helping Marquette advance to the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
- Eight Golden Eagles made their debut in the Blue & Gold vs. Texas (Emi Juric, Tani Juric, Carson Tyler, Molly Welge, Allie Beers, Caydence Doolan, Luanna Markus, Annika Kowalski)
