DAYTON — The Wright State volleyball team begins its third NCAA appearance in four years on Thursday night as the Raiders and their 23-match winning streak face off against Georgia Tech as part of the Milwaukee Regional hosted by Marquette. The Raiders and Yellow Jackets will get underway at 5 p.m. ET with a trip to Friday's second round on the line.


MATCH INFORMATION
Thursday, December 1 - vs. Georgia Tech - 5 p.m. ET - Watch - Live Stats 

LAST TIME OUT
Wright State won the Horizon League Championship at home on Nov. 19 and 20, beating Cleveland State in the semifinals in four sets before a sweep of Northern Kentucky in the championship. Against Cleveland State, Sam Ott led the way with a match-high 17 kills to go along with six digs and four blocks. Callie Martin recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs, while Taylor Bransfield tallied 11 kills. Aaliyah Byers also reached double-figure kills with 10 on 21 attempts. Katie Meyer passed out 50 of Wright State's 59 assists in addition to 14 digs. In the championship, Ott finished with a team-leading 13 kills and a season-high five aces to pace the Raiders. Megan Alders tallied 10 kills, while Taylor Bransfield and Aaliyah Byers finished with nine apiece in the category. Katie Meyer passed out 40 of Wright State's 45 assists. Story (19) and Martin (12) notched double-digit digs to lead the Raiders' efforts defensively.

FAMILIAR SPOT
Wright State is making its third trip to the NCAA Championship in the last four seasons, joining the 2019 and Spring 2021 teams. The Spring 2021 Raiders notched the first NCAA postseason win in program history with a sweep of Samford before falling to Texas, while Wright State also earned an at-large bid into the 2019 tournament, the first at-large bid to an NCAA Championship in Wright State athletics history, where the Raiders ultimately fell to Purdue in the opening round.

KNOW THE FOES
- Georgia Tech is 20-7 overall and finished with a 13-5 ACC record. Georgia Tech saw Julia Bergmann and Breland Morrissette recognized as First Team All-ACC honorees, while three other players earned Second Team All-ACC honors. Wright State and Georgia Tech have never met in volleyball.
- Marquette is 27-3 overall and had a 17-1 record in the Big East while turning in a 16-0 mark at home at the Al McGuire Center. Yadhira Anchante was named Big East Setter of the Year while five others earned all-conference honors. Wright State is 3-2 all-time in the series, with wins in 1981, 1988 and 2002. Marquette tallied wins in 1998 and 2021.
- Ball State is 24-8 overall and finished with a 15-3 record in the MAC. Megan Wielonski was named MAC Setter of the Year while four other players earned postseason honors. Wright State and Ball State have met 22 times, most recently in 2021, with the Raiders trailing in the series 8-14.

NATIONAL MARKS
Entering the postseason, Wright State is No. 42 the country with its 12.72 assists/set mark, aided by Lainey Stephenson's 10.66 assists/set average, which is No. 27 nationally. In Stephenson's absence, Katie Meyer passed out a career-high 52 assists on Sept. 3 against Indiana State and 50 assists on Nov. 1 against Northern Kentucky. The solid setting has led the Raiders to the No. 39 mark nationally with 1,569 kills, aided by their 37.15 attacks/set ratio, No. 23 nationally. Defensively, Wright State is No. 6 nationally with a 17.48 digs/set average and No. 12 nationally with 2,028 total digs. Jenna Story's 5.36 digs/set average is No. 12 nationally and her 622 total digs are No. 9 nationally.

FAMILIAR LOCALE
Wright State is no stranger to this week's host city, visiting yearly for matchups with Horizon League foe Milwaukee. The Raiders also took part in the Marquette Invitational at the Al McGuire Center last September, going 2-1 with wins over Northern Iowa and UTSA while falling to Marquette. Including the Marquette Invitational and the 2021 Horizon League Championship (hosted by Milwaukee), Wright State is a combined 6-3 in the city over the last three seasons, dating back to the Spring 2021 campaign. 

THE NCAA STORY
Jenna Story has put herself in impressive company, entering the postseason No. 3 all-time in NCAA Division I history with 2,947 career digs and counting. Story broke into the top five with 29 digs in a five-set Wright State win over Cleveland State on Oct. 22 and moved into third place with a 30-dig effort at Green Bay in a five-set victory on Oct. 28 when she passed  Paula Gentil, who played at Minnesota from 2002-05. She is just 229 digs shy of the top two spots all-time in NCAA history.

ONE FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS
Wright State posted a perfect 18-0 record in HL play to capture its third regular season title in the last four seasons. The Raiders have won 21 straight matches overall. This marks just the fourth time in Horizon League history that a team finished the regular season with three losses or less, with the Raiders joining Milwaukee (1999 and 2007) and Wright State from the Spring 2021 shortened season. The Raiders now have the only two undefeated League seasons in Horizon League history (Spring 2021 and 2022).