Eastern Illinois (0-0, 0-0 OVC) vs. Marquette (0-0, 0-0 Big East)
Saturday, Aug. 30th | 6 p.m. | Groniger Arena
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ON TAP: The Eastern Illinois volleyball team is set to open up the 2024 regular season with a home match against nationally ranked Marquette on Friday evening. The Panthers are coming off of a historic 2023 campaign that saw them win 28 games on their way to an OVC Championship and NCAA Tournament berth.
SERIES HISTORY: The Panthers hold a commanding 10-3 all-time advantage over the Golden Eagles, but Marquette has won the last two meetings, including a 3-0 victory over EIU in last season's NCAA Tournament.
OPPONENT PROFILE:
- Marquette finished the 2023 season with an overall record of 21-11. They won the Big East regular season title with a conference record of 16-2 before advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
- The Golden Eagles came in at #24 in the AVCA Preseason Top 25 and have been tabbed to finish second in the Big East Conference.
- They return four two-time All-Big East selections in Yadhira Anchante, Hattie Bray, Carsen Murray, and Aubrey Hamilton. Hamilton is a two-time AVCA All-Region selection, while Bray was also named to the All-Region team a season ago.
- Marquette is led by head coach Ryan Theis. He has recorded a record of 212-67 through ten seasons in Milwaukee, and his 355-121 career record places him among the top 15 active NCAA Division I head coaches in win percentage (.746). Theis has led Marquette to the NCAA Tournament nine times, including Sweet 16 runs in 2018 and 2022. He served as an assistant coach for EIU's 2001 NCAA Tournament team.
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: Southeast Missouri was picked to finish first in the OVC Preseason Poll with 167 total points and six first-place votes, narrowly edging out the Panthers who were selected second with 166 total points and five first-place votes. Morehead State was predicted to finish third, while Tennessee Tech and Lindenwood rounded out the top five. They were followed in order by Southern Indiana, UT Martin, SIUE, Western Illinois, Little Rock, and Tennessee State.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES: Veterans
Catalina Rochaix and
Kaitlyn Flynn both received preseason OVC recognition. Rochaix was named to the preseason all-conference team after taking home OVC Setter of the Year honors a season ago, while Flynn was tabbed as Eastern's Player to Watch following a year in which she was third on the team in kills (282), kills per set (2.54), and attack attempts (752).
PANTHERS WELCOME EIGHT NEWCOMERS:Â Half of this season's roster will be made up of new additions. After losing three all-conference selections to graduation, Head Coach
Sara Thomas and staff were able to reload by bringing in a sizeable eight-player class that features four freshman and four transfers. The Panthers also welcome back
Ireland Hieb, who returns for her fifth season at EIU after not playing in 2023.
50 YEARS OF EIU VOLLEYBALL: The 2024 season marks the 50th year of Panthers volleyball. EIU began competing at the NCAA Division II level in 1975 before making the jump to Division I in 1982. The Panthers hold an all-time record of 794-650 (.550).Â
HEAD COACH: Sara Thomas enters her fifth season as head coach at Eastern Illinois. In 2023, Thomas was named the OVC's Coach of the Year after guiding Eastern to their first OVC regular season title since 2004, and their first outright since 1998, as the Panthers posted their highest win total in over four decades. EIU also won the OVC Tournament to claim their first NCAA Tournament bid since the 2001 season. She holds a career record of 57-53 with the Panthers.
NEXT UP: The Panthers will head south for the SIU Saluki Bash in Carbondale next weekend. They will face off with Memphis (1 p.m.) and Jackson State (4 p.m.) on Friday, September 6th before closing out the event against the Salukis on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
