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Two weeks ago, the AVCA top 25 voters installed Marquette volleyball as the #21 team in the country. That was the highest ranking ever in program history.
Last week, Marquette stayed steady at #21.
Since that poll, Marquette went 1-1 with a win at Providence and a loss at #10 Creighton.
APPARENTLY voters like it when you play top 10 teams on the road, as MU is now the #20 team in the country in the latest AVCA poll. Yep, that’s right, Marquette lost a match and moved up in the poll. Weird, huh? As you’ve probably pieced together at this point, that is a new high water mark for the Golden Eagles in the AVCA poll.
Now, to be clear, somehow Marquette actually lost ground in the poll again. Last week, they had 381 points after earning 427 in their first week at #21. This week, it’s merely 365 points, falling in between Kentucky at #19 with 487 points and Baylor, who defeated MU earlier this season, at #21 with 302 points.
As you can imagine, Baylor isn’t the only Marquette opponent in the poll this week. A win over Marquette didn’t help Creighton at all, as they stayed ranked #10. BYU solidified their hold on the #1 ranking, going from 58 first place votes last week to 59 this week. Wisconsin moved up one spot from #6, while USC moved sideways from #14 to a tie for #13.
Northern Iowa and Kansas State are both in the Receiving Votes department, but in two different variations. UNI is clinging to votes after winning their first two matches in Missouri Valley Conference action, while K-State suffered their first losses since Marquette swept them in Saint Louis by opening Big 12 play with an 0-2 start. Apparently the voters didn’t appreciate the home loss to #5 Texas in five sets as much as they liked Marquette getting swept by Creighton on the road. Such is life.
The 10-4 Golden Eagles return to action on Friday night with their first home Big East match of the season. First serve against tied-for-first place Georgetown is set for 7pm, while Saturday’s home date against Villanova is scheduled to start at 6pm.
You can check out the entire AVCA top 25 poll right here.