Saturday’s 3-1 victory over No. 24 Dayton was Marquette volleyball’s first non-conference win over a ranked opponent in two years.
Before that, the Golden Eagles hadn’t beaten a top 25 team in the non-con since the 2022 NCAA tournament, when they took down then-No. 13 Georgia Tech at the Al McGuire Center.
One day prior to downing the Flyers, Marquette beat unofficial No. 33 Western Kentucky 3-2 to end its three-game losing skid.
The 2-0 showing moved the Golden Eagles up three spots to the unofficial 26th ranked team in the country, receiving 77 votes.
Here are some notes from the weekend’s invitational:
1. Ella Foti achieved her goal.
Last week, Foti said she wanted to be fully in the Golden Eagles’ rotation by the weekend after starting the season recovering from a sprained ankle. And she did just that.
Returning to her usual starting right side spot in Marquette’s 3-2 win over Western Kentucky, Foti earned a career-high 18 kills, hitting .378 and also posting eight digs. Against Dayton, she led the Golden Eagles with 18 digs en route to earning Hyatt Invitational all-tournament honors.
Ella Foti earned all-tournament honors at the Hyatt Place Invitational! Foti posted 2.56 and 3.00 digs per set in wins over WKU and Dayton with five assists, three aces and three blocks. #WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/4SOM7oK0Zm
— Marquette Volleyball (@MarquetteVB) September 15, 2024
2. Morgan Daugherty had a career weekend.
After redshirting her first year, the 6-foot-3 middle blocker recorded one kill (Oct. 4 vs DePaul) and one dig (Oct. 1 at Providence) in two appearances as a sophomore.
Over the weekend, Daugherty recorded a career-most two kills against Western Kentucky before earning her first collegiate block to secure the second set against the Flyers.
Brookfield’s Morgan Daugherty with a huge block to end the second set against No. 24 Dayton! #WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/TcYgT4DdsT
— Marquette Volleyball (@MarquetteVB) September 14, 2024
3. Graduate students Yadhira Anchante and Jenna Reitsma both earned double-doubles in each of Marquette’s wins.
Anchante had 55 assists and 11 digs against Western Kentucky, and 40 assists and 16 digs against Dayton — which earned her Hyatt Invitational MVP and Big East setter of the week honors. Reitsma put up 10 kills and 15 digs vs. the Hilltoppers and a season-high 17 kills to go along with 11 digs vs. the Flyers.
4. The Golden Eagles played their best defense of the season, racking up a season-most 18 blocks against Western Kentucky before beating that with 24 blocks against Dayton. They also tied a season-high 10 service aces while finishing with a season-least six errors against the Flyers.
5. Marquette now travels to 7th ranked Wisconsin Tuesday at 7 p.m. CST. The Golden Eagles have beaten the Badgers only once in program history, leaving Madison with a 3-2 road win in 2019. Can they find more upset mojo and extend their two-game win streak?
This article was written by Jack Albright. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @JackAlbrightMU.
