MACOMB, Ill. - The Fighting Leatherneck volleyball team heads to Chicago on Friday (Sept. 12) for the 2014 UIC Invitational, hosted by Illinois-Chicago. Western Illinois opens play Friday night against Buffalo (5 p.m.) and closes out tournament action Saturday with matches against Eastern Kentucky (10 a.m.) and UIC (7 p.m.). All matches will take place inside the Flames Athletic Center. Fans looking for tournament information, live stats, and live video are encouraged to visit the Tournament Central page, located HERE.

LAST TIME OUT: The Leathernecks picked up their first win of the season Tuesday evening (Sept. 9), as they downed Bradley by a 3-1 decision. Western Illinois took the first set, 25-17, thanks to a 7-0 run in the middle of the set and a 5-0 run at the end of the set. Junior Peyton Crosser finished off the set with a nice kill from the outside for the Leathernecks. After Bradley knotted the match up at 1-1, the Purple and Gold took the final two sets, and the match. In the third set, a 25-17 victory, the Leathernecks won 8-of-10 points to pull away from the Braves thanks to big contributions from Mallory Gibson, Melanie Miller, and Ann Miller. Western opened the final set trailing 6-0, but fought back to tie things up. A back-and-forth battle ensued down the stretch, but a kill from Crosser, followed by a Sam Fournier kill gave the Leathernecks the victory. Ann Miller paced the squad with 15 kills while Fournier dished out 36 assists. Molly Murphy added 23 digs, matching a season-high.

A LOOK AT BUFFALO: The Bulls, coached by Reed Sunahara, head to Chicago with a 4-3 record. Buffalo comes into the Invitational fresh off of claiming the USF Invitational title after dropping Florida International (3-1) and South Carolina State (3-0). The Bulls are led offensively by Tahleia Bishop (96 kills) and Megan Lipski (66 kills). Bishop was named the Bulls 'Athlete of the Week' after posting 41 kills at the USF Invitational.

SERIES HISTORY: The two teams have only met once previously, with Western Illinois taking a 3-1 decision on Sept. 30, 1996. 

A LOOK AT EASTERN KENTUCKY: Eastern Kentucky enters the tournament with a stellar 7-2 record. The Colonels, who had a five match winning streak earlier this season, are coached by Lori Duncan (17th season). Alexis Plagens leads the attack with an impressive 114 kills on the season (3.68/set) while Abbey Cvelbar has dished out 322 assists. 

SERIES HISTORY: Saturday marks the fifth all-time meeting between the two programs, with the Colonels holding a 3-1 advantage. Western's victory came in 1997, a 3-0 decision, but the two teams have not met since 2006.

A LOOK AT UIC: Host UIC is 2-5 on the season, picking up wins over Chicago State and DePaul. Katie Schumacher-Cawley leads the program which is highlighted by redshirt freshman Nicole Johnson. Johnson, a setter, leads the nation with 11.73 assists per set and is hitting at a .500 clip when she swings. One of Johnson's top targets will be junior Stephenee Yancy, who was named to the All-Tournament Team of the Windy City Invitational after recording 57 kills, a .404 attack percentage, and 11 total blocks.

SERIES HISTORY: The Flames hold a 24-16 mark over Western Illinois in the all-time series, with the two school splitting the last four matches. The Leathernecks dropped UIC 3-0 last season, and picked up a 3-1 win in 2009. UIC put together consecutive wins in 2010 and 2011.

TEAM ACCOLADES: The Leatherneck program has picked up a pair of tournament honors in the first two weeks 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 received recognition of her own, as she was named a candidate for the 2014 

IN THE RANKINGS:  The Leathernecks have been a solid team defensively this season, recording 15.55 digs per set. The number ranks third in the conference, with Denver (15.71) and South Dakota State (15.61) holding slim advantages over Western Illinois. Individually, senior Molly Murphy ranks second in digs per set 4.36 and total digs (96), trailing only Beth Howard of IUPUI (4.71/113).

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.

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