No. 7 Marquette fell to No. 14 Illinois (27-25, 25-12, 22-25, 21-25, 15-11) Saturday night at the Redbird Classic in the Golden Eagles’ third five-set match of the 2019 season and second in a 36-hour span.
It’s the Golden Eagles’ second loss to the Flighting Illini since December, when Illinois swept MU in the quarterfinals of last year’s NCAA Tournament.
Marquette took a 16-11 lead in the first set before Illinois tied the set at 18-18. MU eventually won the set 27-25 on consecutive Illinois attack errors.
The second frame was much easier for the Golden Eagles.