Ryan Theis announced three new freshman signees for next fall, but there is one outgoing transfer to address as well.
Back on November 13th, Marquette volleyball announced three Class of 2025 signings. At the time, MU also said “further additions will be announced at a later date.” I thought that meant that head coach Ryan Theis was expecting some transfer news to be coming down the pipe.
That didn’t happen.
However, on Tuesday, Theis did announce the signing of three freshmen for the Class of 2025. Defensive specialists Avery Helms and Annika Kowalski will join outside hitter Emma Parks when they arrive on campus this summer as freshmen with four years of eligibility remaining.
That’s not the only news from the Marquette roster as of late. Back on January 3rd, Kentucky announced the official transfer signing of MU defensive specialist Molly Berezowitz. The Burlington, Wisconsin, native played in 117 of Marquette’s 119 sets as a sophomore this season. She averaged 2.15 digs per set and was coming up on an assist every other set as well. Berezowitz was coming off one of her best matches of her career, tallying her top digs total of 21 in Marquette’s Round of 32 win over Utah. I’m not entirely sure what may or may not have prompted her interest in departing, especially with MU losing Samantha Naber and Jadyn Garrison to the end of their eligibility after the 2024 season. It seems clear that Berezowitz’s role on the team was growing and developing and would have been even bigger for MU in 2025, but we do have to point out that her older sister Maddie did win a national championship with the Wildcats in 2020. It’s a safe bet that she has a lot of existing relationships with the UK program, so best of luck to her in her future endeavors.
Swinging back to the new signings, let’s hit up some quotes on each of them. Going in alphabetical order, we’ll start with Avery Helms.
Theis on Helms:
“Avery is a tremendous passer and defender. While some liberos are better at one than the other – she seems to excel in both. She has expanded her game over the last two years and is getting more comfortable playing multiple defensive spots – which adds even more value. I expect Avery to dig a lot of balls in her career as a Golden Eagle.”
Helms on MU:
“I chose Marquette because of the combination of high-level volleyball, academics, and community. Marquette gives me the opportunity to better myself both on and off the court. I’m so excited to be a part of such an amazing program!”
Theis on Annika Kowalski:
“We have known Annika a long time and are excited for her to join our program. While she is a terrific high school attacker, we will likely transition her to the back court. She has great ball-handling skills and we are excited to get her in the gym and see what she can do when she focuses on the DS/libero position.”
Kowalski on MU:
“Marquette is a place that’s always felt like home! My first time on campus was for a high school team camp, and after playing in the gym and touring the campus, I knew I could see myself there. The coaches and players care deeply about the culture, and that was the most important thing to me. I chose Marquette because I want to challenge myself in the classroom and on the court day in and day out while being surrounded by amazing people!”
Theis on Emma Parks:
“Emma has a tremendous upside. While some of our recruits commit to volleyball at the age of 11 or 12, Emma’s process was much later. She is high above the net and has great length. I think there is a chance we will redshirt Emma, but she is going to score a lot of points in her Marquette career.”
Parks on MU:
“I chose Marquette because of their extremely competitive and consistently successful volleyball program, as well as their very strong academics. Marquette felt like home as soon as I stepped onto campus. The volleyball program feels like family, and the coaches and players are such amazing people on and off the court. I am so excited to join a program and school that will push me to my highest potential and help me to succeed.”
As you can see from the quotes, it would appear that Helms is the player perhaps most prepared of the trio to contribute immediately. Kowalski will be essentially learning a new position, while Parks is still developing towards a productive Division 1 player to the point where Theis is already presuming she won’t play in 2025. Still, you gotta put the best players you have on the floor to win matches, and the fact of the matter is that 2025 Marquette volleyball has a lot of questions that the last couple of seasons didn’t have.
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