Both games were must-win.

No. 19 Marquette went to Lawrence, Kansas to face two Top-25 teams, Purdue and Kansas, needing to make a statement that the opening weekend was a fluke.

Instead, the Golden Eagles (2-3) head back to Milwaukee under .500 after going winless over the invitational weekend.

Purdue

Marquette was one point away from its first ranked win of the season.

But, the Golden Eagles ended up losing the match 3-2 (25-18, 18-25, 25-16, 27-29, 15-17) after failing to secure the victory Friday afternoon in the Horejsi Athletic Center.

Marquette was leading No. 25 Purdue 2-1 going into the fourth set, and looked to close the game out, leading 24-21.

The Golden Eagles had all the momentum until the Boilermakers earned a service ace and forced an attack error from junior outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton, tying the fourth set 24-24.

In the blink of an eye, the wind was gone from Marquette’s sails.

The set went to extra points and the Boilermakers won it 29-27, forcing a fifth and final frame.

It started 0-0, but the damage was done and Marquette could not recover, losing the set 17-15 and the game 3-2 after being only one point away from a much-needed win.

As a team, the Golden Eagles hit .225 and the Boilermakers hit .209. Hamilton led everyone with 23 kills and sophomore outside hitter Eva Hudson led Purdue with 21 kills.

Kansas

Saturday was the toughest matchup of the weekend for the Golden Eagles, who played the No. 23 Jayhawks, the home team, in front of a sold-out crowd.

After the tough loss the day before, it was a mystery how the match would turn out for Marquette.

Would it be able to start each set on the front foot? Would it be able to respond to a run from Kansas? Would its defense stop Kansas’ offensive firepower?

All of these questions turned out to be a no as the Golden Eagles lost 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 14-25, 19-25) to the Jayhawks Saturday afternoon.

Kansas led the first set 4-0, the second set 6-0 and the third set 4-0 before Marquette managed to get on the board.

The Jayhawks closed the second frame on a 3-0 run and the final frame on a 4-0 run. They used their offensive ability to overwhelm the Golden Eagles’ defense and keep the game out of arm’s reach at every stage of the final three sets.

Three Kansas hitters — juniors London Davis and Ayah Alnady, and graduate student Reagan Cooper — ended with at least 12 kills and Davis led all Jayhawks with a .444 hitting percentage.

As a team, Marquette hit .117. The Golden Eagles hit under .200 in all sets but the first, the only one they won, and in the final frame, they hit .024. The Jayhawks finished hitting .227.

Up Next

Marquette has its first home game of the season against No. 10 Pitt Friday night at the Al McGuire Center.