Three volleyball matches, two women's soccer matches and two men's soccer matches. I guess it's safe to say that the fall sports schedule at Marquette is in full swing.
The volleyball team looks to end their weekend above the .500 mark they currently sit at with a trip to the Bluejay Invitational in Omaha, NE. They get things started with a match tonight at 4:30 against South Dakota and two matches tomorrow, first against Northern Illinois at 10am and then against host Creighton at 7:30pm. South Dakota enters the Invitational 1-3, with the lone victory coming over Oregon State. NIU is sitting at 3-2 so far in 2011, with both of their losses coming to top 20 opponents in #18 Iowa State and Marquette's most recent opponent, #14 Northern Iowa. Creighton has stumbled out of the gate this season, starting 1-3 after making an appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2010. Because we live in the 21st century, live stats and streaming video will be available through GoCreighton.com, but because Creighton's running a business, you have to pay for the video.
Men's soccer goes directional this weekend, heading northeast across town to Englemann Field for two "neutral site" (wink wink, nudge nudge) matches against Western Michigan and Western Illinois as part of UW-Milwaukee's Panther Invitational. The Golden Eagles are the third straight Big East team that Western Michigan will face this year, tying DePaul 3-3 in an exhibition and losing to Cincinnati 3-1 in their opener. WMU is coming off a season where they were the runner up in the MAC in both the regular season and conference tournament to eventual 2010 national champion Akron. This trip marks WIU's 2nd trip to Wisconsin this year after falling to Wisconsin 1-0 in their opener. WIU remains winless on the season after a 1-1 tie with Drake in their last match. Live audio for both matches will be available through GoMarquette.com & WMUR.
In the highest profile match of the weekend, #11/#12 women's soccer team puts its undefeated record on the line in its first regular season road contest. They travel to Tallahassee, FL to take on the last team to defeat them, #7/#10 Florida State. The Golden Eagles look to avenge last year's Sweet 16 loss against an FSU team that returns 9 starters and sits at 3-1 on the year, with the lone loss coming on a road trip to Portland.
In important AE news, your loyal non-men's baskeball reporter will be LIVE AND IN PERSON at the women's soccer match against North Dakota on Sunday afternoon at 1pm. When you get the opportunity to see the reigning Great West Conference Player Of The Week, you take it! Rachael Loomis leads the Fighting Sioux into Milwaukee with 2 goals and an assist in their 3 games so far this season.