For the fourth consecutive season — and the first time under first year head coach Tom Mendoza! — Marquette volleyball has advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament!
The Golden Eagles took advantage
of a favorable draw from the tournament committee and picked up a 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-16) sweep of #7 seed Western Kentucky to pick up the win in the first round of the 2025 NCAA tournament. It was a favorable draw even with MU unseeded and the Hilltoppers technically favored by way of their seed because these two teams faced off in the McGuire Center back in early September. That alone would make it helpful to Marquette because they were familiar with their opponent, but the result in Milwaukee was the same as it was in Louisville: A 3-0 sweep for Marquette.
As 3-0 sweeps go, this was one of the better ones that you’ll see. Over and done with in the minimum time frame, but not exactly a rip through overpowering performance by Marquette, either.
It took until 18-14 Marquette in the first set for the Golden Eagles to finally lead by more than three points as they chugged along putting together two in a row and only three in a row right there pushed them that far out in front. The key was rarely letting Western Kentucky get two points in a row, because you can build a pretty decent lead outscoring your opponent 2 to 1. An ace from Hattie Bray made it 23-18 late, and WKU knocked together a couple of points to make Marquette take them seriously, but Emma Parks shut the set down before things actually got risky.
MU went up 7-4 and 8-5 in the early goings of set #2, but the frame was tied back up at 8-all before long, and it was just a series of you go up, I tie it, I go up, you tie it for a while. Marquette got three of four points late with kills from Natalie Ring combined with one of WKU’s eight service errors in the match — remember when I said Marquette couldn’t count on that happening a second time in the preview?!? — to go up 21-19, and kills from Bray and Kiera Schmidt made it 23-20. It looked like Western Kentucky had fended off set point for the third time in this match, but Tom Mendoza said “hey, what if I challenge and win a set point against this team for the second time this season?” Challenge was successful, kill by Parks, and that’s 25-21 and a 2-0 lead.
It was the Hilltoppers with the advantage early in the third set, going up 4-3 after a Mendoza challenge failed and then 8-6 a little later on. Marquette got even at 8, and then they took over. A kill from Kiera Schmidt triggered a 6-1 run for Marquette and left them up 14-10. From there, Western Kentucky never scored two in a row again and the Golden Eagles inched away from them and kept stacking points to get to 25. WKU’s last point of the day came on a kill from Kaira Knox to make it 21-16, and Marquette hammered down the last nails in the coffin from there: Kill by Elena Radeff, error by Knox, ace by Radeff, and a misfire by Izzy Van De Wiele made it 25.
Marquette was led by 16 kills from Natalie Ring, and she did that on .344 hitting. Marquette’s expected top hitters all had big days, with Emma Parks going for 12 kills on .357 hitting and Hattie Bray putting up 11 on just 14 swings for .786 hitting. Elena Radeff? Only six kills, but she made the most of her 13 swings, same for Kiera Schmidt, getting five kills on an error free nine swings. Isabela Haggard had 34 assists in her first ever NCAA tournament match, so it’s fine that she only had one kill on her seven attempts to dump a set over the net onto the Hilltoppers, and she added 11 digs for a double-double, too. That matched Adriana Studer for the team high as well.
How about some highlights, courtesy of GoMarquette.com and ESPN+?
How about a post-match interview with Natalie Ring, and please forgive her for being breathless, this happened approximately 60 seconds after the match ended.
Up Next: As I wrap up this recap, #2 Louisville has swept Loyola Chicago in the second match at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena. That sends the Cardinals on to a second round match against the Golden Eagles, and yes, that’s going to be a home game for the #2 seed. First serve is scheduled for 5pm Central time, and I presume that’s going to be on ESPN+, just like Friday’s match.
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