The Marquette women’s volleyball team opened its season with a 2-1 record at the Loyola Invitational in Chicago this past weekend.

The Golden Eagles beat Eastern Kentucky 3-0 in the first match of the tournament, giving coach Bond Shymansky his first career victory with the team. Junior Nikki Klingsporn, a transfer from Wisconsin, recorded 30 assists in her first game as a Golden Eagle.

It was a completely different match when Shymansky went up against his alma mater, Iowa. After splitting two tight first sets 25-23, 23-25, the Hawkeyes took over the match and downed Marquette 3-1. Klingsporn dished out 35 assists while adding 10 digs and four kills to the stat sheet. Also contributing were junior Leslie Bielski (17 kills) and senior Hailey Viola (13 digs).

Marquette concluded its weekend with an impressive 3-1 victory over tournament host Loyola Chicago. Sophomore Ashley Beyer led the Golden Eagles with 24 kills and added 13 digs to record a double-double.