What an up an down year this year was for the Marquette men's club volleyball team. But in the end, the team again exceeded expectations of the national ranking committee. The team went into this year's tournament ranked No. 31 in the country, but thanks to an upset of No. 7 Utah Valley State on the first day of play, the young Marquette squad was ready to make a run for the Gold Bracket. However, after a win over Penn, a loss to Santa Clara later in pool play sent the team to a challenge match with Arizona State. The team ended up losing in two, forcing them into nothing higher than the Silver Bracket. There, the Golden Eagles took care of UW-Madison and West Virginia.

In Silver, Marquette was matched up against a big Virginia Tech squad, who they beat, 2-0, which led them to a rematch against arch rival Notre Dame, who had beat the Golden Eagles two weeks prior at the MIVA Championships. Marquette was able to defeat the Irish 2-1, before losing to Indiana in the semifinals of silver. The 19th-place finish was respectable for the Golden Eagles in that they ended the season higher than WVC foes UW-Whitewater (25th) and UW-Oshkosh (21st). In the meantime, the WVC still has reason to celebrate, as Lakeland continued the conference's streak to four consecutive years of winning the NIRSA Championships. Congrats, Muskies.
Hey everyone, as the season gets started again, check out the VolleyTalk Web site, and the message board on the WVC Web site. A lot of talk is starting already about who are the teams to beat.

For more information on the upcoming season or if you have any questions, please contact club president Matt Lane or Brian Nash.