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We’re just under two weeks away from the start of the women’s college volleyball season, so that means it’s time for a preseason top 25 poll from the AVCA! It was released on Monday, and YOUR Marquette Golden Eagles..... are not ranked. But they are receiving votes!
Marquette snagged 27 points in the first poll of the year. That makes them the unofficial #33 team in the country as the season gets started. They’re nestled right in between Michigan at 28 points and Dayton with 25 points, so there’s a big opportunity for things to start moving quickly once the season starts.
In fact, Marquette will (almost) open their season against one of their Receiving Votes brethren. Hawaii earned 47 points in the preseason poll to land in the unofficial #29 team in the country. MU will play in a tournament hosted by the Rainbow Wahine over the first weekend of the season and Match #2 of the season will be a road game against the hosts. That’s a pretty good chance to prove that you belong in the top 25 right there, although actually getting ranked would depend on probably multiple ranked teams taking horrible losses as well.
Speaking of multiple ranked teams, that’s exactly what the Golden Eagles have in their non-conference schedule. Not only that, but MU will play both of them at home and on back-to-back days at that. Kentucky, fresh off winning last year’s national championship, will be Marquette’s home opener this season after starting the year ranked #3 in the country with 17 first place votes. The very next day, Wisconsin will make their way to the McGuire Center. The Badgers are ranked #2 in the country in the preseason poll, although they only earned 15 first place votes, two fewer than Kentucky.
In addition to Hawaii, there are two more teams that received votes on Marquette’s schedule this season. Creighton is the unofficial #27 team in the country with 69 points in the poll, while Wright State earned five points after going 17-2 in the spring, which included a first round NCAA tournament victory over Samford.
Marquette’s first match of the season is set for Friday, August 27th. The opponent out in Hawaii will be Texas A&M and first serve in Honolulu is set for 9:45pm Central time.
You can check out the entire AVCA top 25 right here.