Inside an air-conditioned University of Kentucky Memorial Stadium, the Marquette Golden Eagles came out hot on their way to an upset victory over then-No. 11 Kentucky (25-21, 25-22, 18-25, 16-25, 15- 12) to open the season Friday night.
The upset win extends Marquette’s early-season winning streak to 11 straight, nine of which have come under coach Ryan Theis.
Additionally, it is the second time the Golden Eagles have defeated the Wildcats in program history.
FLY HIGH, EAGLE! 🦅
Marquette scores a big opening day victory, defeating No. 11 Kentucky, 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 18-25, 16-25, 15-12), in Lexington.#NCAAWVB x 🎥 @MarquetteVBpic.twitter.com/jHlMwPB9su
— NCAA Women’s Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) August 27, 2022
Marquette started the first set with an early 5-2 lead after a 4-0 scoring run. The Wildcats then rallied to tie the set at 10 before the Golden Eagles answered with another extended run. Sophomore midfielder Hattie Bray had a solo block to give Marquette a 17-13 lead forcing a Kentucky timeout.
A big block up the middle by Hattie Bray in her first career game, forcing a Kentucky timeout. #WeAreMarket pic.twitter.com/FL2X7T0Duj
— Marquette Volleyball (@MarquetteVB) August 26, 2022
The timeout slowed Marquette’s momentum as Kentucky went on a 5-1 run to tie the set at 18. Marquette then closed out the set by outscoring Kentucky 7-3 to win the set 25-21. In the set, the Golden Eagle hit .306 while the Wildcats hit .152.
The Wildcats held multiple four-point leads in the second set and led 18-14 before the Golden Eagles fought back with a scoring streak. The most important of those runs, for Marquette, came on the final three points to win the set 25-22. Marquette hit .361 in the set and Kentucky hit .286.
After falling into an early deficit, Kentucky came out hot in the third set jumping out to an 11-6 lead, which forced Theis to call a timeout.
After the timeout, the Wildcats continued to keep their foot on the gas as they built their largest lead of the game, 17-10.
Freshman outside hitter Natalie Ring saw her first action as a Golden Eagle and provided a spark with two kills during a 4-0 Marquette run to make it 18-15.
Freshman Natalie Ring makes her first appearance in the match in the third and responds with back-to-back kills. MU pulls it to 18-17 and MB calls TO. #WeAreMarket pic.twitter.com/DIRI4gSeu8
— Marquette Volleyball (@MarquetteVB) August 27, 2022
The run would not be enough as in the third set, Kentucky slowed Marquette’s offense and won the set 25-18. Kentucky is outhitting Marquette .559 to .355 in the bracket.
The fourth set would open with the first six points combined coming on errors and Kentucky leading 4-2. Soon after, Marquette went on a 4-0 run to take its first lead of the set, 7-5. Kentucky then responded by scoring seven of the next eight points, building a significant lead for Marquette to come back to lead 19-10. The Wildcats went on to win the set 25-16 forcing a fifth set. In the set, Kentucky hit .143 and Marquette .031, the lowest of either group in the match.
Going into the final set, Kentucky had nine aces to Marquette’s zero, and Kentucky had 12 service errors to Marquette’s 11. That meant Kentucky had an eight-point advantage coming from the service line.
Marquette would eventually allow zero evens and no service errors in the fifth set. The Golden Eagles were able to jump out to an early lead before Kentucky came back with a 4-0 run. Marquette regained control going on a 4-0 run to take a 9-5 lead over the Wildcats.
The Wildcats pulled back to within one, 12-11, before the Golden Eagles called a timeout. After the timeout, sophomore setter Yadira Anchante grabbed one of Kentucky’s blockers as they circled to try to block Bray.
Junior outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton put the nail in the coffin to seal the upset for Marquette with a kill, taking the final set 15-12.
In her first match as a Golden Eagle, Hamilton led the way with 18 kills, seven digs and two total blocks. Sophomore setter Ella Foti was the only other player in double figures with 12 kills, along with nine digs and five assists in her Marquette debut.
Kentucky was led by senior outside hitter Adanna Rollins, who finished with 26 kills and 11 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Erin Lamb came off the bench for the Wildcats and finished with 18 kills.
On the night, Marquette finished hitting .288 and Kentucky hit .296.
The Golden Eagles (1-0) will be back in action on Saturday when they play Ohio at 3:00 PM CST in Lexington, Kentucky. It will be broadcast on ESPN+.
This article was written by Ben Schultz. He can be reached at benjamin.a.schultz@marquette.edu or on Twitter @benschultz52.
