MACOMB, Ill. - The Fighting Leatherneck volleyball team heads to Indiana this weekend for a league match against Fort Wayne on Sunday (Oct. 26). The Leathernecks look to take the season series after sweeping the Mastodons, 3-0, on Oct. 3. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. (CT) inside the Hilliard Gates Sports Center. Fans looking to follow along with the match can do so via one of the links below.

Audio Stream: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/ipfw/portal.htm?eventId=166123&streamType=audio
Video Stream: gomastodons.com/showcase (subscription required)
Live Stats: sidearmstats.com/ipfw/wvball

LAST TIME OUT: The Leathernecks dropped a pair of league matches last weekend, losing to IUPUI 3-0 before nearly knocking off Oral Roberts. Against the Golden Eagles, the Purple and Gold dropped the first two sets before storming back to force the match to a fifth set. Western won a close third third set, 25-22, before cruising to a 25-15 victory in the fourt set. In the end, Oral Roberts would escape with a 15-13 victory in the fifth set. Ann Miller recorded 17 kills while Samantha Fournier had a double-double (40 assists, 13 digs).

A LOOK AT FORT WAYNE: The Mastodons currently sit at 10-13 overall and 4-4 in league play. The 4-4 mark puts the Mastodons in a tie for fourth place in the league as they look to secure a bid for postseason play. Emily Spencer leads the attack as she ranks first in in the league in kills (410) and kills per set (4.66). Spencers's 410 kills leads the league by 67. Anna Werde's 1.47 blocks per set lead the league while Kendall Wienkes' .39 aces per set is tops in The Summit League. 

SERIES HISTORY: Fort Wayne leads the all-time series 13-4, but the Leathernecks have claimed the past two meetings between the programs. On October 3, the Mastodons came to Macomb and the Leathernecks swept Fort Waye out of the building with a 3-0 victory. Ann Miller and Peyton Crosser each posted 10 kills while Samantha Fournier dished out 25 assists. The back line was a group effort as Fournier (13), Molly Murphy (12) and Miller (11) all tallied double-digit digs.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Senior Ann Miller is making her way up the record books in career kills and career attack attempts. Miller currently ranks fifth in career kills (1,207), needing 29 kills to move into fourth place. Miller ranks second in career attack attempts with 3,690 and is 10 attacks shy of breaking the school record set by Amy Sauerwein (5,699). Looking at the conference, Miller ranks second in the league (16th nationally) in attacks per set (11.87), while her 914 kills puts her second in the conference and 20th most in the country this year. Freshman Kayla Ruff ranks second in The Summit League in aces per set (.40), and Molly Murphy is fifth in digs per set (4.30). 

MILLER MAKES HISTORY: Senior Ann Miller made Leatherneck history at the UIC Invitational, becoming the 10th player in program history to record 1,000 career kills. At the end of the weekend, Miller ranked 10th in program history in career kills. The following weekend at the Hoosier Classic, Miller continued her move up the ranks as she collected 30 kills in the opening match against Butler. The 30 kills ranks fourth most in program history for a single match, and moved Miller into eighth place on the career kills list.

TEAM ACCOLADES: The Leatherneck program picked up three All-Tournament Honors during the non-conference portion of the season. Senior Molly Murphy was named to the All-Tournament Team of the Active Ankle Challenge, hosted by Ball State, after leading the team in digs (39) on the weekend. Murphy also had six assists and one ace on the weekend. Fellow senior Sam Fournier was recognized at the Leatherneck Invitational, being named to the All-Tournament Team. Fournier, who had never recorded more than four assists in a match at Western Illinois, tallied 109 assists on the weekend. Ann Miller was an All-Tournament Team selection of the UIC Invitational after collecting 52 kills on the weekend. Miller recorded 26 kills in a come-from-behind victory against UIC, falling one kill shy of matching her career-high in kills. Miller received national recognition as well, as she was named a one of 30 candidates for the 2014 Senior CLASS award. The award is given out to one senior athlete in 10 different NCAA Division 1 sports for notable achievements in the four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character, and competition.  Miller is the lone volleyball representative from The Summit League.

SENIOR LEADERS: The squad is paced by four seniors this season, Ann Miller, Sam Fournier, Molly Murphy, and Mallory Gibson. The quartet of seniors have been a presence on the court since their freshmen years, compiling 1,102 combined sets played between the four players.

LEATHERNECK NEWCOMERS: Four new players join the Leatherneck family for the 2014 season. Junior middle blocker Peyton Crosser joins the program after transferring from Indian Hills CC (Iowa), while sophomore setter Elyse Keating comes to the Leathernecks after playing for one season at the University of Mount Olive (N.C.). Western Illinois also brings in two freshmen in setter Courtney Joyce and Kayla Ruff. Joyce (Chicago, Ill., Mother McAuley) helped lead Mother McAuley to a 2013 class Class 4A State Championship, while being named the 2013 SouthtownStar Player of the Year, as well as the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Player of the Year. Ruff (Bettendorf, Iowa, Pleasant Valley) comes to Western Illinois after being named Honorable Mention All-Conference her final three years of high school. Ruff helped pace the Spartans of Pleasant Valley to a combined 66-9 record her final two seasons, with appearances in the state semifinals and elite 8. 

THE SCHEDULE: Western's 2014 schedule breakdown: three road tournaments, consisting of nine matches, one home tournament with three matches, one additional home nonconference contest, and 16 Summit League matches. Total, the Leathernecks will play 11 matches in Western Hall or Brophy Hall, and 17 matches on the road.

THE COACHING STAFF: Head coach April Hall enters her third season at Western. 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 in 2012 is the team's graduate assistant.

ON THE AIR: All home matches this season will be available on the radio with Cody Snodgress and Matt DeSalvo will handle the announcing duties this season. Live video streaming will also be available for home matches this season, with a subscription required to view. Eric Sutera will serve as the play-by-play announcer while Emily Manley will be the color commentator. 

Radio: 88.3 FM or 883thedog.com
Video Streaming: goleathernecks.com/watch (subscription required)
Live Stats: sidearmstats.com/wiu/wvball
 

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