The AVCA brought us one step closer to the fall women’s volleyball season on Monday afternoon when they released the 2022 preseason top 25 rankings. In what is definitely not a surprise given the roster turnover, YOUR Marquette Golden Eagles are not in the preseason rankings.
They are, however, earning votes in the poll. That’s pretty dang cool. With Hope Werch, Taylor Wolf, and Savannah Rennie all gone amongst others, the 2022 Golden Eagles lineup is going to look wildly different than it did last year, but the poll voters still threw 40 points worth of rankings in MU’s direction. If you ask me, that’s a tremendous vote of confidence in head coach Ryan Theis and the direction of the program under his guidance.
Those 40 points make Marquette the unofficial #37 team in the country heading into the season. They are just three points behind Florida State, but a whopping 22 points in front of Ball State.
MU’s pathway into the top 25 is very obvious. They will open the season, literally Match #1, against #11 Kentucky down in Lexington. After a second match against Ohio in The Commonwealth, MU’s third match of the season will come against preseason #3 Wisconsin out in Madison. I’m not saying that Marquette will be favored in either match, it’s pretty clear that they won’t be. However, if they pick up the win from either one — or even both??!? — then the Golden Eagles will be ranked pretty much immediately out of the gate this season and should probably be able to keep that number next to their name all year long.
There will be more chances for Marquette to get into the top 25. The next chance will be on Saturday, September 17th, when Illinois comes to the McGuire Center for MU’s ninth contest of the season and second to last non-conference match. The Illini are #17 in the preseason poll. Maybe they slip up between now and mid-September, but that’s still a quality win for Marquette sitting right there for them.
The Golden Eagles will get two chances to face a preseason top 25 team during Big East play, and I bet you already know what they are. Creighton is starting off the season ranked #18 in the country, and MU’s first meeting of the year with the Bluejays will be in Omaha on Friday, October 14th. With a little bit of luck, the Big East regular season title will be on the line when the two teams meet again in Milwaukee, as that will be in Marquette’s final regular season match. First serve for that game is set for 6pm Central on Saturday, November 19th, so clear your calendars now.