The campus community is invited to celebrate the Marquette volleyball team as it departs from the Al McGuire Center for its trip to the NCAA tournament on Tuesday, Nov. 28. The team will be departing through the Walk of Champions at 4:15 p.m. Please arrive at the Al McGuire lobby by 4 p.m.
Marquette has earned an at-large berth as a No. 6 seed in the 2023 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship and will face Eastern Illinois in the first round on Thursday, Nov. 30, at 3:30 p.m. in West Lafayette, Indiana. The match can be viewed on ESPN+.
The Golden Eagles (20-10, 16-2 Big East) are the Big East Conference regular season co-champions for the third time in as many years. The squad is led by 10th-year head coach Ryan Theis and All-Big East Conference selections Yadhira Anchante, Carsen Murray, Aubrey Hamilton and Hattie Bray.
This year marks MU’s 12th NCAA trip in the last 13 seasons. Marquette’s lone absence in the NCAA bracket was in the spring of 2021 due to a reduced tournament field.
The Golden Eagles are headed for NCAA matches at Holloway Gymnasium, on the campus of Purdue, for the third time in the last five seasons. In its first trip to West Lafayette in 2019, Marquette defeated Dayton and lost to the No. 16-overall seed Purdue. MU also fell in four sets to Dayton in 2021 in a first round contest.
Marquette has made six trips to the second round of the NCAA tournament and advanced to the regional semifinals in both 2018 and 2022 after hosting first and second round matches at the Al McGuire Center. In total, MU is 8-11 all-time in NCAA tournament play since making its debut appearance in 2011 at the University of Illinois.
The third-seeded Boilermakers will face Fairfield on Thursday evening at Holloway following MU’s match against EIU. The second round match in West Lafayette is slated for Friday at 6 p.m. between the two first round winners.
The Golden Eagles have already faced Purdue once this season, falling in five sets to the Boilermakers on Sept. 1 in Lawrence, Kansas. MU had match point at 24-21 in the fourth set against Purdue but lost the fourth frame and eventually fell in five sets.
