MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois volleyball team begins the second half of its Summit League schedule this weekend when South Dakota State (Friday, Oct. 14) and North Dakota State (Saturday, Oct. 15) visit Brophy Hall. The Fighting Leathernecks are in the middle of a season-long five match homestand.

Western Illinois (9-10, 2-7 Summit League) recently dropped a pair of home matches to IUPUI (0-3) and IPFW (2-3). Back in mid-September, Western Illinois fell to both SDSU and NDSU on its annual swing through the Dakotas.

MEDIA COVERAGE

Online: Live Stats will be available at GoLeathernecks.com by accessing the live stats link on the volleyball schedule page.

Subscribers to Rocky Vision at GoLeathernecks.com can watch WIUTV3's live broadcast of the SDSU contest. Dan Firnbach will be providing play-by-play for the match.

Fans can follow WIUAthletics on Twitter for in-match updates.

Radio: All home matches during the 2011 season can be heard on WIUS (88.3 FM) radio. Mitch Winkelman and Nico Haeflinger will be calling the matches.

SCOUTING SDSU

South Dakota State sits in seventh-place in The Summit League with a 4-5 record in conference play. The Jackrabbits are 12-10 overall and picked up a 3-0 home win over Western Illinois back on Sept. 17. Junior Kelli Fiegen led the Jackrabbit attack with 10 kills on 20 attempts in that contest. Fiegen ranks second in the conference in attack percentage (.347) and fifth in kills (3.28 kps) while junior Shay Birath sits in sixth place with 4.90 digs per set. Junior Kaitlin Klingemann puts down 2.48 kills per set while senior Ellyce Youngren contributes 2.09 kills per set.

SCOUTING NDSU

North Dakota State is in a tie for second-place in The Summit League with a 7-2 mark in conference play. The Bison are 14-7 overall and picked up a 3-0 home win over Western Illinois back on Sept. 16. Freshman Lauren Cammack led the Bison with 15 kills, two aces and four digs in that matchup. Junior Megan Lambertson ranks first in the conference in attack percentage (.403) while senior Jennifer Lopez is second in assists (10.62 aps). Cammack ranks eighth in kills (2.78 kps) and second in aces (0.41 saps). Junior Brynn Joki ranks sixth in kills (3.21 kps) and junior Andrea Henning is tenth in digs (4.14 dps).

BRIDGET MURPHY RISES IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS

Junior Bridget Murphy has collected eight straight 20-plus dig performances. She had 23 digs in three sets against IUPUI and 22 in five sets against IPFW. Murphy, who owns 11 20-plus dig efforts this season, leads all Summit League competitors and rose two spots to fifth in the nation with 5.79 digs per set. She is also helping the Western Illinois defense rank fourth in the nation in digs per set (18.41).

Murphy moved past the 1,000 career dig mark earlier this season and is the 11th player in program history to reach the milestone. She is just three digs away (1,064 career digs) from moving into ninth place. She has earned two tournament MVP honors and the Summit League's Defensive Player of the Week (Aug. 29) so far this season.

EGAN EYING RECORD BOOK

Senior Cait Egan picked up three blocks against IPFW to move into a tie with Laura Olson (1988-92) for fourth place all-time in program history with 327 career total blocks. Egan also put down 11 kills against the Mastodons and owns 978 career kills.

She is 22 kills away from becoming the ninth player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills. Egan leads the squad with 190 kills and ranks seventh in the Summit League with a .265 attack percentage.

MOLLY MURPHY BAFFLES WITH SERVE

Freshman Molly Murphy picked up two service aces against IPFW to raise her conference-leading total to 32 aces. She currently ranks 29th in the nation with 0.45 aces per set. Murphy also compiled 15 digs against IPFW and is averaging 3.38 digs per set during conference play.

GIBSON QUALIFIES FOR SUMMIT LEAGUE RANKINGS

Freshman Mallory Gibson did not play in the first seven matches of the season but has made a significant impact since the beginning of September. She has started the last eight matches and is averaging a team-high 1.05 blocks per set.

With 37 sets played this season, Gibson finally qualified for the Summit League individual rankings and ranks second in blocks. She picked up three solo blocks against IPFW and sits second on the squad with 13 solo blocks.

HOSTENG STEPS IT UP IN CONFERENCE PLAY

Junior Katie Hosteng put down 13 kills on 34 attempts against IPFW for her fourth double-digit effort of Summit League play. She leads all Leathernecks with 95 kills during conference play and ranks sixth in The Summit League with 2.88 kills per set against league opponents.

FETTER SHINES AT SETTER

Sophomore Sarah Fetter has collected four consecutive double-doubles and owns six overall this season. Fetter had 28 digs and 10 assists against IUPUI and compiled 49 assists and a season-high 21 digs against IPFW. Fetter, who is averaging 10.29 assists per set against league opponents, ranks fourth in the conference in assists (9.84 aps).

STITTLEBURG PROVIDES SPARK OFF THE BENCH

Senior Brooke Stittleburg came off the bench against IPFW to lead Western Illinois with a season-high 17 kills on 46 attempts. Her 17 kills ties Katie Hosteng (Oct. 2 at South Dakota) for the most kills in a match this season.

Stittleburg also collected eight digs and her sixth service ace of the season against the Mastodons. Her other double-digit effort this season came against Arkansas Pine-Bluff on Aug. 26 when she put down 13 kills on 26 attempts for a stellar .462 attack percentage.