MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois volleyball team begins a season-long five match homestand Saturday (Oct. 8) when IUPUI visits Brophy Hall. The Fighting Leathernecks also play host to IPFW on Oct. 10 for their second Monday night home contest of the season.
Western Illinois (9-8, 2-5 Summit League) split a pair of road matches to UMKC (W, 3-1) and South Dakota (L, 3-1) over the weekend. Western Illinois seeks to snap a six-match losing skid to IUPUI while the Fighting Leathernecks look to make it two straight home wins over IPFW after last season's 3-1 victory on Sept. 17 inside Brophy Hall.
THE MATCHUPS
Who: IUPUI at Western Illinois
When: Saturday, Oct. 8 • 7 p.m. CT
Location: Macomb, Ill. • Brophy Hall
Series History: IUPUI leads 18-9
Last Meeting: Nov. 13, 2010 (@IUPUI 3, WIU 0)
Who: IPFW at Western Illinois
When: Monday, Oct. 10 • 7 p.m. CT
Location: Macomb, Ill. • Western Hall
Series History: IPFW leads 8-2
Last Meeting: Nov. 5, 2010 (@IPFW 3, WIU 0)
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 match. Dan Firnbach will be providing play-by-play for the matches.
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 IUPUI
IUPUI is off to an 8-10 start and picked up two road wins (South Dakota and UMKC) this past weekend to improve to 3-4 in Summit League play. Under the guidance of fifteenth-year head coach Steve Payne, the Jaguars were picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll.
IUPUI welcomes back second-team selection senior Shari Bernhardt, who currently ranks fifth in the league with 4.85 digs per set. Sophomore Moriah Fair leads the offense with 2.87 kills per set (eighth in the league) while junior Bethany Fogler leads all Summit League competitors with 79 total blocks (1.20 per set).
SCOUTING IPFW
IPFW is 11-6 overall after defeating Eastern Michigan in five sets at home Tuesday night. The Mastodons play host to South Dakota and UMKC this upcoming weekend. IPFW, 4-2 in Summit League play so far, was picked to finish third in the preseason poll.
Defending Coach of the Year Kelly Hartley Hutton and the Mastodons seek their second-straight regular season title and return junior Megan Steenhuyseen, who won 2010 Setter of the Year and currently ranks second in the league with 10.82 assists per set. Freshman Emily Spencer ranks third in the league with 3.97 kills per set and junior Tessa McGill ranks second in digs per set (5.08).
BRIDGET MURPHY RISES IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Junior Bridget Murphy compiled 56 digs over the weekend and has collected six straight 20-plus dig performances. She had 22 digs in four sets against UMKC before tying a career-high with 34 in four sets against South Dakota.
Murphy, who owns nine 20-plus dig performances this season, leads all Summit League competitors and rose three spots to seventh in the nation with 5.82 digs per set. She is also helping the Western Illinois defense rank fifth in the nation in digs per set (18.41).
Murphy moved past the 1,000 career dig plateau against South Dakota and is just the 11th player in program history to reach the milestone. She vaulted past Hall of Famer Diane Ellefritz (1987-91) into tenth all-time with 1,019 career digs. She has earned two tournament MVP honors and the Summit League's Defensive Player of the Week (Aug. 29) so far this season.
MOLLY MURPHY BAFFLES WITH SERVE
Freshman Molly Murphy picked up five more service aces over the weekend, including four against South Dakota, to raise her conference-leading total to 30 aces. Murphy currently ranks 22nd in the nation with 0.48 aces per set. Murphy also compiled 19 digs against South Dakota and is averaging 3.50 digs per set during conference play.
HOSTENG SETS SEASON-HIGH
Junior Katie Hosteng set a Western Illinois season-high with 17 kills on 46 attempts against South Dakota. She currently ranks sixth in the league during conference play with 2.96 kills per set. Hosteng also leads all Leathernecks with 74 total kills and a .223 attack percentage during Summit League action.
EGAN MOVES UP BLOCKS LIST
Senior Cait Egan finished the weekend with 11 total blocks to move past Patty Melinauskas (2003-06) and Erin Frick (2006-09) into fifth place all-time in program history with 322 career blocks. Egan also put down 25 kills over the weekend and owns 959 career kills. With 41 more kills, Egan will become just the ninth player in program history with 1,000 career kills. Egan leads the squad with 171 kills and ranks tenth in the Summit League with a .266 attack percentage.
GIBSON HOSTS BLOCK PARTY AGAINST UMKC
Freshman Mallory Gibson set a Western Illinois season-high with nine total blocks (one solo and eight assist) against UMKC. Gibson has started the last six matches and is averaging a team-high 1.17 blocks per set this season. During league play, Gibson ranks fourth in the conference with 1.08 blocks per set.
MILLER STAYS IN SUMMIT LEAGUE RANKINGS
Freshman Ann Miller collected her team-high tenth double-double of the season against UMKC (14 kills and 10 digs). She currently ranks tenth in the league in both kills (2.73 per set) and digs (3.70 per set). Her 3.70 digs per set leads all Summit League freshmen.
FETTER SHINES AT SETTER
Sophomore Sarah Fetter collected two double doubles over the weekend and owns four overall this season. First she had 45 assists and a season-high 16 digs against Southern Utah before a season-high 50 assists and 11 digs at South Dakota.
The last time a Leatherneck dished out 50 or more assists was Aug. 28, 2010 when Heather Smith had 64 against USC-Upstate. Fetter is averaging 9.87 assists per set this season, which ranks fourth best in The Summit League.
