Marquette volleyball has lost another to the portal.
First-year middle hitter Meghan Clifford announced on Instagram Monday that she would be transferring to the University of North Carolina. Clifford joins a UNC squad that made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2021 and 20th all-time a season ago.
The Tar Heels are a squad that is losing six seniors and three transfers from last year’s team. Clifford heads to UNC with the hope of helping UNC get back to consecutive NCAA Tournaments for the first time since 2015-2016. On her Instagram post, she was thankful and gracious for her time at Marquette and said, “So grateful for my time at Marquette, but I can’t wait to be a Tar Heel.”
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Clifford did not play in her one and only season as a Golden Eagle, but in high school, she reached 1,000 kills as a senior on her way to becoming a state champion. Clifford’s senior year, she took home both all-state and all-tournament honors. The Fairport, New York native was also on the AVCA Phenom Watch List as one of the top recruits in the high school class of 2024.
Former Marquette volleyball coach Ryan Theis in 2023 said “Meghan is a physical player, and her strength and size are valuable additions for us at the net. Meghan will need a year to catch up to the speed of our game, but she is a big part of our future. She reminds me of a bigger version of Hattie Bray.”
Clifford was often receiving high praise from Theis and others around the program about the high potential she had as a player. She joins Malayah Long as the second MU player to transfer out since Tom Mendoza was announced as head coach on March 2nd.
This story was written by Brian Wilson. He can be reached at b.c.wilson@marquette.edu