MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois travels across Illinois to play the end of its home-and-home series with Chicago State Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Leathernecks defeated the Cougars 3-0 a week ago on September 10th in Macomb.

LAST TIME OUT: Western Illinois volleyball concluded the 2013 Hawkeye Challenge with a pair of defeats on Saturday, falling to host Iowa and Drake. The Leathernecks dropped the opening match of the day to the Hawkeyes, 3-1, before falling to the Bulldogs, 3-2, in the tournament finale. Ann Miller and Samantha Fournier were both named to the All-Tournament Team following the conclusion of the tournament. Both recorded 51 kills during the four matches in the tournament.

A LOOK AT CHICAGO STATE: Chicago State, a member of the Western Athletic Conference, enters Tuesday's match with an 2-9 record. The Cougars most recently participated in Syracuse's tournament where they defeated both Delaware State (3-0) and Saint Peter's (3-0) before falling to host Syracuse. Leading the team in kills is Paula Sioto with 121 (3.36 per set), while Mackenzie Lotter leads Chicago State in assists with 323 (8.97 per set). Julia Menhart has 15 service aces on the year, a team-best. Defensively for Chicago State, Mia Townsell leads CSU with 112 digs (3.11 per set), and Madeleine Radtke leads the team with 20 blocks (0.56 per set).

SERIES HISTORY: Western leads the all-time series 35-4 with the two teams playing home-and-home series the past three seasons. The Leathernecks have won 17 consecutive matches versus Chicago State, including a 3-0 victory earlier this season. The last time the Cougars downed WIU was in 2003.

IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE: As a team the Leathernecks rank first in kills (549), assists (525), serivce aces (65), and service aces per set (1.44). Western ranks second in attacks (1,557), digs (653), and solo blocks (22). WIU ranks third in assists per set (11.67), digs per set (14.51), and points (686). Individually, Ann Miller ranks in the top five of five categories: third in kills (158), fourth in kills per set (3.51), fourth in service aces (12), fourth in points (176.5). Samantha Fournier ranks in the top five of five categories: third in attacks (429), fourth in kills (156), fourth in points (176.5), fourth in points per set (3.9), and fifth in kills per set (3.47). Sarah Fetter ranks first in assists (459) and second in assists per set (10.2). Bailey Kaloupek ranks fifth in digs with 139. Jordan Jackson ranks eighth in solo blocks with four.  

IN THE NATION: As a team, Western ranks in the top 100 of one category, service aces per set, having averaged 1.44 this season. Individually, Kaitlynn Novak ranks 52nd in service aces per set with a 0.44 average, and Sarah Fetter ranks 80th in assists per set with 10.2.

CAREER LIST: Setter Sarah Fetter has 2,576 career assists at Western, which ranks fifth in program history. Fetter is 364 assists away from fourth on the all-time list. Tracy Benson recorded 2,940 during her time on the court at Western (1983-87).

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Ann Miller was named to the CEFCU Classic All-Tournament Team on August 31st after she finished the weekend with 57 kills, a .417 hitting percentage, 34 digs, four service aces, and five blocks.  A week later, Bailey Kaloupek was named to the Diet Coke All-Tournament team on September 7th after recording 46 digs (5.1 per set) throughout the tournament. At the Iowa Tournament, Miller earned her second All-Tournament team honor along with Samantha Fournier. Both hitters finished with 51 kills on the weekend.

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.

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Ann Miller was named Papa John's Scholar-Athlete of the Week on September 3rd for her performance the week prior on the court and in the classroom; the honor is the second for Miller in her career. 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 breakdown: four tournaments made up of 12 matches, three additional non-conference contests, and 14 Summit League matches. The Leathernecks play eight matches at home in Western Hall or Brophy Hall, and 21 matches on the road.

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.

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