Bobcats Prepped for NCAA Tournament Battle vs. No. 1 Wisconsin

No. 16 Quinnipiac Bobcats (14-14, 10-8 MAAC) at No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers (25-3, 19-1 B1G)
Friday, Dec. 2, 2022 | 7:00 PM Central (8:00 PM Eastern)
UW Field House | Madison, WI.
GAME NOTES: Quinnipiac | Wisconsin

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MADISON, WI. – After securing its first MAAC Championship in program-history, Quinnipiac women's volleyball returns to action, as the Bobcats travel to take on top-seeded Wisconsin in the opening round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament on Friday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. from the UW Field House.

With a win, the Bobcats will advance to the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament and will take on the winner between TCU and Washington on Saturday at 6 p.m. All games will be broadcast on ESPN+.

TALE OF THE TAPE

Friday's matchup will mark the first ever meeting between the two programs
No. 2 Wisconsin (25-3) was selected as a top regional seed and the No. 3 overall seed in the 2022 NCAA Tournament
The Badgers are the reigning NCAA champions and hold a 60-24 (.714) all-time record in the program's 25 NCAA tournament appearances
UW is 32-8 under head coach Kelly Sheffield in nine years in the championship, advancing to at least the Sweet 16 round of play each season
Wisconsin has four appearances in the national championship, including the last three years in a row
Wisconsin won its eighth overall and fourth-straight Big Ten Championship last Friday with a 3-1 win at No. 5 Nebraska, becoming only the second school to win four-straight titles
UW extended its winning streak to 18 matches with two wins last week, downing No. 5 Nebraska and No. 8 Ohio State on the road. The active win streak ties for second on the Wisconsin record list and ties for third nationally
After starting the season 2-3 against top-25 teams, the Badgers have downed their last nine ranked opponents to improve to 11-3 against top teams, defeating more ranked teams than any other team in the nation

NO-LOSS NOVEMBER

The Bobcats earned their first ever berth into the NCAA Tournament as an automatic qualifier after winning the 2022 MAAC Championship as a sixth seed
Winners in nine of their last 11 games prior to the postseason, the Bobcats entered the MAAC Tournament as one of the hottest teams in the conference
The Bobcats went 7-0 during the month of November, beginning with a four-game win streak prior to the MAAC Tournament
During the run leading into the MAAC Tournament, the Bobcats had won each of its last four matches, dropping just one set between the contests
No. 6 Quinnipiac opened the MAAC Tournament with a four-set victory over No. 3 Iona, to advance to the MAAC Semifinals for the third time in four seasons under head coach Kyle Robinson
The Bobcats then proceeded to sweep No. 7 Rider to advance to the MAAC Championship for the first time since 2019
Unwavered, the Bobcats stayed hot and fought past preseason MAAC favorites, No. 1 Fairfield in four sets to earn its first ever MAAC title and berth into the NCAA Tournament

DOWN GOES THE GAELS

No. 6 Quinnipiac downed No. 3 Iona in the MAAC Quarterfinals, 3-1 on Nov. 17
Aryanah Diaz, Ginevra Giovagnoni and Yagmur Gunes led the Bobcats with a double-double apiece in the match.
Diaz compiled 14 kills and 23 digs, Giovagnoni added 17 kills and 21 digs, while Gunes totaled 12 kills and 16 digs
With the sets tied at 1-1 the two sides played to a 19-19 tie in the set before Quinnipiac went on a 5-1 run to go up 24-20. Iona crept back into the set at 24-23 before the Bobcats used a timeout. Out of the timeout Diaz scored a kill to secure the set win for Quinnipiac.
After falling behind 10-1 in the set, the Bobcats responded with a 12-3 run, powered by three kills from Diaz to tie the set at 14-14 and forcing an Iona timeout. Out of the timeout, the Bobcats went on a 5-1 run to push ahead 19-15. Iona never recovered, as the Bobcats went on to take the set, 25-17 and match, 3-1.

RODE PAST RIDER

Behind double-doubles from Aryanah Diaz and Ginevra Giovagnoni, the No. 6 Quinnipiac volleyball team downed No. 7 Rider in straight sets in the MAAC Semifinals held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports on Nov. 18. With the victory, the Bobcats advanced to the MAAC Championship for the first time since 2019.
Ginevra Giovagnoni led the way with 15 kills and 12 digs, while Aryanah Diaz added 12 kills and 14 digs for double-doubles
After narrowly taking the first two sets by two points apiece in extras, the Bobcats jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the third set
Rider countered with a 4-1 run before the Bobcats went on a 4-1 run themselves to push ahead 17-8. The Bobcats never looked back in the set, going on to take the set 25-11 and the match 3-0

CLAWS OUT FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP

It's tough to defeat the same opponent three times in a row in a single season and Fairfield had no luck doing so, as the No. 6 Quinnipiac women's volleyball defeated top-seeded Fairfield, 3-1, on Nov. 19 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida to capture the 2022 MAAC title
Ginevra Giovagnoni led the Bobcats with 15 kills and 12 digs for a double-double, while Yagmur Gunes posted a double-double of her own with 11 kills and 18 digs
Nicole Legg contributed 14 kills and five blocks in the victory, while Damla Gunes poured in 48 assists and eight digs
With Quinnipiac leading in sets 2-1, the Bobcats held an 18-15 lead before Quinnipiac went on a 6-2 run to take the set and win its first MAAC title in program history

DOMINANT DIAZ

Quinnipiac's leader in kills (333), kills per set (3.23) and points (381.0), Aryanah Diaz has been stellar for the Bobcats all season en route to earning All-MAAC First Team honors
Diaz was named the MAAC Tournament MVP after averaging 4.00 points, 4.18 digs and 3.27 kills per set over 11 sets played
The senior totaled 46 digs, 44 points, 36 kills, 8 assists and 4 service aces during the span of the tournament
Diaz owns 12 double-doubles on the season, most recently recording 12 kills and 14 digs in a victory over Rider in the MAAC Semifinals on Nov. 18
Diaz was named the MAAC Player of the Week, as announced by the conference on Tuesday, Oct. 18
Diaz was stellar for the Bobcats in three games, averaging 5.41 points, 4.55 kills and 2.09 digs per set over 11 sets of action.
In a 2-1 week for Quinnipiac, Diaz totaled 50 kills, 23 digs, nine service aces and four assists
With 847 career kills, Diaz ranks third all-time in the program's Div. I history in the category
With 853 career assists, Diaz ranks seventh all-time in the program's Div. I history
With 1,088 career digs, Diaz ranks second all-time in the program's Div. I history and fourth in the program's all-time history

DAZZLING DAMLA

Rookie Damla Gunes has made an instant impact for the Bobcats, earning All-MAAC Rookie Team this season
Gunes' 856 assists on the season is tops on the team and ranks third in the MAAC, while her 9.30 assists per set ranks third in the MAAC as well
With 856 assists, she is the first Bobcat to record 800 assists in a season since Maria Pansari posted 1,126 in 2018
Gunes was named to the 2022 MAAC All-Championship Team after averaging 11.09 assists and 1.45 digs per set
She posted totals of 38, 36 and 48 assists during the span of the tournament
She has recorded six double-doubles on the season, most recently posting 28 assists and 11 digs in a win against Saint Peter's on Nov. 12
She has recorded 30 or more assists 14 times this season
Damla Gunes accumulated 55 assists in QU's contest against Canisius on Sept. 18
Gunes tallied 55 assists and 12 digs against Fordham on Aug. 27 for the first double-double of her collegiate career
She is the first Quinnipiac player to tally 50 or more assists twice in a season since Maria Pansari did so six times in 2018
Her 55 assists in a contest stands as the second-most assists in a match by a MAAC player this season, doing so twice

NOTORIOUS NICOLE

Graduate student Nicole Legg has proven herself to be a top two-way player in the MAAC, earning All-MAAC Second Team honors this season
Legg is tops in the conference in hitting percentage (.387), while also ranking 10th in total blocks (72)
Legg has tallied 10 or more kills in four matches this season, most recently posting 14 kills in the MAAC Championship game against Fairfield on Nov. 19
She totaled 12 blocks during the MAAC Tournament, posting six blocks vs. Iona in the MAAC Quarterfinals, one block against Rider in the MAAC Semifinals and five blocks against Fairfield in the MAAC Championship
Legg recorded a season-high eight blocks against Marist on Oct. 5
Nicole Legg contributed five kills and a career-high seven service aces in the win over Canisius on Oct. 22
Of her career-high seven service aces in the match, five came in the clinching fourth set
Legg posted six kills and six blocks in Quinnipiac's three-set victory over Niagara on Oct. 23

WAY TO GO GI

First year Ginevra Giovagnoni has totaled 158 kills on the season, which is good for fourth-most on the team despite playing in just 14 matches
She boasts 3.22 kills per set on the season, second on the team behind Diaz (3.23)
Giovagnoni stepped up her play in the postseason, earning 2022 MAAC All-Tournament honors
She averaged 4.86 points, 4.27 kills and 4.09 digs per set over 11 sets played
Giovagnoni totaled 53.5 points, 47 kills and 45 digs over the three-game span
Giovagnoni has posted five double-doubles on the season, tallying three-straight during the MAAC Tournament
She totaled 17 kills and 21 digs against Iona in the MAAC Quarterfinals
Giovagnoni posted 15 kills and 12 digs vs. Rider in the MAAC Semifinals
She registered 15 kills and 12 digs in the MAAC Championship over Fairfield
Giovagnoni was named the MAAC Player of the Week, as announced by the conference on Monday, Aug. 30
This was the first weekly award honor for Giovagnoni this season after just two games played
She combined to tally a team-best 31 kills, 15 digs, two service aces and a block in Quinnipiac's opening matches against Stony Brook and Fordham
Giovagnoni recorded nine kills, eight digs and two service aces in the Bobcats' opener at Stony Brook
She followed that performance with a team-high 22 kills with a blistering .409 attack-percentage and seven digs against Fordham

ALL-MAAC BOBCATS

Quinnipiac volleyball saw three players earn All-MAAC accolades, led by senior outside hitter Aryanah Diaz earning All-MAAC First Team honors, as announced by the league office on Wednesday, November 16
Along with Diaz earning First Team honors, graduate student Nicole Legg was named to the All-MAAC Second team, while first-year setter Damla Gunes was named to the All-MAAC Rookie Team as well

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To stay up-to-date on news surrounding Quinnipiac volleyball, follow the program on social media @QU_WVB and on gobobcats.com.

Schedule

Bobcats Prepped for NCAA Tournament Battle vs. No. 1 Wisconsin

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Players Mentioned

Aryanah Diaz

Ginevra Giovagnoni

Damla Gunes

Yagmur Gunes

Nicole Legg

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Upcoming Event: Women's Volleyball versus Fairfield on Oct. 24, 2025 at 5:00 PM

Upcoming Event: Women's Volleyball versus Sacred Heart on Oct. 25, 2025 at 5:00 PM

Upcoming Event: Women's Volleyball versus Merrimack on Oct. 28, 2025 at 5:00 PM

Upcoming Event: Women's Volleyball versus Iona on Oct. 31, 2025 at 5:00 PM

Bobcats Prepped for NCAA Tournament Battle vs. No. 1 Wisconsin

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Aryanah Diaz

Ginevra Giovagnoni

Damla Gunes

Yagmur Gunes

Nicole Legg

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