MACOMB, Ill. -- The Fighting Leatherneck volleyball team concludes tournament action this Friday and Saturday (Sept. 19-20) as they head to the Hoosier Classic. Indiana serves as tournament hosts for the final nonconference play of the season. Western Illinois opens play Friday against Butler (4 p.m.), while closing out play against Indiana (11 a.m.) and Buffalo (4 p.m.) on Saturday. Live stats for all matches can be found on the Indiana volleyball schedule page, found HERE. Live audio for the match against Indiana will be available, accessible HERE.

LAST TIME OUT: The Leathernecks, 2-8 on the season, posted a 1-2 record at the UIC Invitational, knocking off the tournament hosts in their final match. After dropping in an early 2-0 hole, the Purple and Gold stormed back to take the final three sets, and the match, from the Flames. Senior Ann Miller led the way offensively, recording 26 kills, a new season-high. Miller, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, fell on kill shy of matching her career-high of 27 kills. Over the weekend, Miller also made history, becoming the 10th player in school history to record 1,000 kills in a career. Samantha Fournier dished out 42 assists, while Molly Murphy anchored the back line with 21 digs.

A LOOK AT BUTLER: The Bulldogs are coached by Sharon Clark, who is in her 15th season with the program. The team heads to Bloomington with a 6-3 record in 2014, thanks to a five match winning streak from Sept. 5-13. Senior Belle Obert is the top target in the Butler attack, as she has 118 kills (3.58 k/s) on the season. Makayla Ferguson, a true freshman, has recorded 354 assists on the season, while Jadyn Yarling has 134 digs as the Butler libero.

SERIES HISTORY: Friday will be the ninth meeting between the Leathernecks and Bulldogs, with Butler holding a 7-1 advantage. Butler took the last meeting between the two teams, a 3-1 decision on Sept. 7, 2012. Prior to that, the two teams last met on Sept. 9, 2006, a 3-0 sweep by Western Illinois at home.

A LOOK AT INDIANA: The Hoosiers, tournament hosts this weekend, enter play with an impressive 7-2 record. Indiana was also at the UIC Invitational last weekend, but the Hoosiers and Leathernecks did not see each other on the court. Indiana, led by head coach Sherry Dunbar-Kruzan, picked up its first loss of the season against UIC during tournament play. Megan Tallman leads the Big Ten, and ranks fourth in the country, in assists per set (12.03). Morgan Leach has recorded 104 kills, while Courtney Harnish has 158 digs on the season. 

SERIES HISTORY: The Hoosiers and Leathernecks have met seven times previously, however only two of those meetings have come since 1980. Indiana holds a 6-1 series advantage, with Western Illinois' lone victory coming in 1979.

A LOOK AT BUFFALO: This marks the second consecutive week in which the Bulls and Leathernecks see each other, as the two met on the first night of the UIC Invitational. The Bulls, coached by Reed Sunahara, head to Chicago with a 7-3 record after winning all three matches in Chicago. Buffalo, who as won the past two tournaments it has participated in, lean on Tahleia Bishop (149 kills, 4.38 k/s) for offensive support. Bishop is first in the conference in kills/set, while the Bulls are first in the conference (34th in the country) in kills per set as a team. 

SERIES HISTORY: The meeting between Buffalo and Western Illinois at the UIC Invitational marked the second time the to teams had met. Western Illinois took a 3-1 decision on Sept. 30, 1996, while Buffalo evened the score with a 3-0 sweep in Chicago last weekend. 

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. Miller's 1,033 kills ranks 10th in program history. She currently needs six kills to move into ninth all-time (Diane Ellefritz, 1,038) and 30 kills to take possession of eight all-time (Cait Egan, 1,062).

TEAM ACCOLADES: The Leatherneck program has picked up three All-Tournament Honors during the nonconference 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-Tourmane 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

IN THE RANKINGS:  The Leathernecks have found success from the service line this season, ranking first in the conference in aces per set (1.43), and second in total service aces (84). Freshman Kayla Ruff has posted a team-best 13 aces, which ranks fourth in the conference, while her .46 aces per set ranks second among Summit League players. Senior Molly Murphy is second in the league in total digs (168) and digs per set (4.54), trailing IUPUI's Beth Howard by 10 digs and .02 digs per set. Junior Jordan Jackson is second in the conference in total blocks (36) trailing Melissa Firtko of South Dakota by four.

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