Marquette Volleyball..... Gained Ground In The AVCA Poll?

I figured that when Marquette volleyball lost to #19 Creighton on Sunday that we were going to see the end of the Golden Eagles as a team getting votes in the AVCA top 25 poll. It seemed that the voters that were still ranking Marquette were the only ones interested in ranking MU as their vote total had been largely stable for the past four weeks. However, a loss to a #19 ranked Bluejays team feels like the kind of thing, even with it being a road game, that makes people say “y’know, if they can’t beat #19, maybe they’re not a ranked team.”

And yet.

As we crack open Monday’s new poll, we find that Marquette has 33 points. That is one point more than Marquette had last week. Someone improved their view of MU over the last week. That’s whacky.

Making things even more curious is the fact that Illinois has jumped Marquette. Last week, MU was the unofficial #26 team in the country at 32 points with the Illini one spot behind at 21 points. This week it’s Illinois with 39 points in the “first spot outside the top 25” ranking with MU right behind them. Weird, huh? Colorado is next in line with 28 points, while Washington State has jumped into the top 25 this week with 74 points to rank #25.

With #2 Pittsburgh losing over the past week, Wisconsin ascends one spot from #4 to #3 in the new poll while maintaining their spot as the best ranked team on Marquette’s schedule this season. Kentucky continues to be the #2 team in that ranking while they continue to be the #5 team in the country this week. While MU’s loss to Creighton appears to have somehow helped the Golden Eagles, beating Marquette didn’t help the Bluejays advance as they are still #19 in the poll.

Marquette returns to action on Friday night when they open a three match homestand with a 7pm start against St. John’s. Seton Hall comes town on Saturday evening for the second match in as many days this weekend at the McGuire Center.

You can check out the entire top 25 right here.