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Marquette volleyball advanced their overall record to 11-2 over the weekend as they won their first two matches of Big East play. As mostly expected, this did not help them vault from just outside the AVCA Top 25 to just inside the poll’s rankings.
In fact, most likely due to things completely outside Marquette’s control, the Golden Eagles actually lost ground in the poll. After two straight weeks with 41 points and being ranked as the unofficial #26 team in the country, MU picked up 32 points in Monday’s brand new AVCA poll. That makes Marquette the unofficial #27 team in the country, and it’s the new team inbetween them and the top 25 that’s probably mostly responsible for the drop off.
I’m not going to dig deep into the polls from last week and this week to figure it out, but I know that Washington State beat then-#6 Washington over the weekend, and that’s why the Cougars have 75 points in the poll this week. It seems likely that Marquette lost nine points due to voters putting the Cougars in front of the Golden Eagles because, let’s be honest, WSU now has a much better win that any of MU’s wins. Ole Miss is the team behind Marquette in the poll, and they have 15 points. Even if MU had stuck at 41 points for a third straight week, they would have been a far cry from #25, which went to San Diego with 101 points.
Wisconsin took their first loss of the season this past week, and so the Badgers dropped from #2 to #5 in the poll. They’re still the best ranked team on Marquette’s schedule this season though, even with Kentucky moving up one spot from #7 to #6 this week. Creighton stayed steady at #16 to wrap up the MU opponent section of the poll analysis.
Marquette returns to action this Friday evening when they host Connecticut at the McGuire Center with first serve set for 5pm Central. If you’re interested in attending Marquette Madness later that evening, I highly suggest that you head to the McGuire Center to watch the volleyball team from the start of the match as the athletic department will not be clearing the building between the end of the volleyball and the start of Madness. MU will also hit the road to take on DePaul on Sunday afternoon to give the Golden Eagles two matches against other teams in the four-way tie for first place in the Big East right now.