LAST TIME OUT: Western cruised to a pair of back-to-back sweeps last weekend against conference foes South Dakota State and North Dakota State. The Purple & Gold defeated SDSU, 3-0, last Friday (Oct. 11) inside Brophy Hall. Western won the sets 25-16, 25-16, 25-21 for its fourth win over SDSU in 15 career meetings. Ann Miller put down 19 kills for Western in the match while Samantha Fournier and Heather Smith added 13 and 11, respectively. Senior setter Sarah Fetter assisted on 44 kills, while Molly Murphy finished the match with a team-best 25 digs. On Sunday (Oct. 13) the Leathernecks played host to NDSU inside Western Hall. The Bison jumped out to an early lead in the opening-set but Western made a come back and took set one, 25-20. The Leathernecks took set two in convincing fashion, 25-15, before taking the final set, 25-20, to win the match 3-0. Fournier led Western with 12 kills in the match, while Fetter assisted on 30 kills. 

FIRST TIME: The back-to-back wins over the Dakota's marks the first time that Western volleyball has defeated both SDSU and NDSU in the same weekend. It also marks the first time that the Leathernecks have swept back-to-back conference opponents since 2007.

SCOUTING THE COYOTES: The Coyotes enter Friday's match with a league-best 14-6 overall record and 5-0 mark in conference play. Kendall Kritenbrink leads the Coyotes and the conference with 333 kills and 4.56 kills/set. Tori Kroll has assisted on 769 kills which is the third most in the league. Audrey Reed has 219 digs this season, while Kaitlyn Hastings has 204. USD swept Denver last weekend in Vermillion. The head coach of the Coyotes is Matt Houk who is in his sixth season at the helm.

SERIES HISTORY: USD leads the overall series, 3-1. The Coyotoes took both meetings in 2011 before the team's split in 2012. Western defeated the Coyotes in Vermillion last season, 3-0, while USD took the match in Macomb, 3-1.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS: Denver is in second-place in the league standings with a 10-6 overall record and 4-1 mark in league play. The Pioneers are led by Colleen King and Moni Corrujedo who have 217 and 192 kills, respectively. Brea Muhle leads the conference with an impressive .454 hitting percentage this season. Bailey Karst has assisted on 407 kills for DU, while Tori Moons has 232 assists. Kate Acker is second in the league with 274 digs this season. The Pioneers are in their first season in The Summit League. The head coach is Jesse Mahoney who is in his second year at the helm. 

SERIES HISTORY: Sunday will be the first meeting between the two teams. 

IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE (Last Updated 10/17): Samantha Fournier ranks fourth in the league in both kills (281) and kills/set (3.75). Ann Miller ranks fifth in the league in kills (266) and kills/set (3.55). Molly Murphy leads the conference in service aces/set with a 0.46 average, while Kaitlynn Novak ranks third with a 0.39 average. Sarah Fetter ranks second in the conference in assists (771) and fourth in assists/set (10.28). As a team the Leathernecks lead the conference in service aces/set with 1.39 and are second in the league in digs with 1,106. 

IN THE NATION (Last Updated 10/17): Kaitlynn Novak is 53rd nationally in service aces/set with 0.39. Samantha Fournier is 66th nationally in kills/set with 3.75 and 79th in points per set with 4.17. As a team, Western is 80th nationally with 1.39 aces/set.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Molly Murphy was named The Summit League's 'Defensive Player of the Week' on Oct. 14 for her performances last weekend. The Junior recorded 43 total digs in the matches against SDSU and NDSU, including 17 digs in the opening set against SDSU. The honor is the first for Murphy, who ranks third in the league in digs/set with a 3.87 average. The Chicago native also leads the league in service aces per set with a 0.46 average. Samantha Fournier was named The Summit League's 'Offensive Player of the Week' following her performance in Western's win over Omaha on Sept. 28. The junior notched 15 kills (5.0/set) in the match with a career-high .650 hitting percentage. She also posted a career-high four service aces for the Leathernecks. The Coal City, Ill. native becomes the first Leatherneck volleyball player to receive the honor since Patty Melinauskas in Oct. 2006.

CAREER LIST: Setter Sarah Fetter has 2,888 career assists at Western, which ranks fifth in program history. Fetter is 53 assists away from fourth on the all-time list. Tracy Benson recorded 2,940 during her time on the court at Western (1983-87).

CAREER-BESTS: Mallory Gibson posted a new career-high on August 30th versus Bradley when she stuffed 10 total blocks. During the Leathernecks' September 5th match at Northern Illinois, Bailey Kaloupek bettered her career-high in digs with 29. Sarah Fetter recorded a career-best 65 assists in September 14's loss to Drake, while Ann Miller also bettered her career-high in kills that game, finishing with 27. Fetter also recorded a new career high versus Oakland when she notched 23 digs. Samantha Fournier recorded a career-high .650 hitting percentage at Omaha and a career-best four service aces.

SCHOLAR-ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: Molly Murphy was named Papa John's Scholar-Athlete of the Week on October 14 for her performance on the court and in the classroom. The junior notched 43 total digs in the Leathernecks back-to-back wins over SDSU and NDSU last weekend. She was also named The Summit League's 'Defensive Player of the Week' following the weekend. Murphy owns a 3.135 GPA and is majoring in RPTA. Ann Miller was named Papa John's Scholar-Athlete of the Week on September 3rd of this year marking the second time in her career she has received the honor. In the classroom, Miller is a two-time Summit League Fall Academic All-League Distinguished Scholar. The Bettendorf, Iowa native owns a 3.909 GPA and is majoring in Supply Chain Management. 

THE SCHEDULE: Western's 2013 schedule features nine more matches in the regular season including this weekend. Five of those matches will be at home while four will be on the road. All nine matches will be against conference members as the Purple & Gold look to return to the conference tournament for the first time since 2007.

THE COACHING STAFF: Head coach April Hall enters her second season at Western and has hired a pair of new coaches. Laura DeBruler, who concluded her collegiate volleyball career at Illinois in 2010 is the Leathernecks' full-time assistant, while Bridget Murphy, who completed a decorated career at Western Illinois as a defensive specialist last fall is the team's graduate assistant.