MACOMB, Ill. - The Fighting Leatherneck volleyball team opens conference play this weekend as Denver and Omaha come to Macomb. Western Illinois (2-11) faces the Pioneers on Friday (Sept. 26) before taking on the Mavericks of Omaha on Sunday (Sept. 28). First serves are set for 7 p.m. (CT) and 2 p.m., respectively, inside Western Hall.

LAST TIME OUT: The Leathernecks went 0-3 in their final nonconference tuneup of the season at the Hoosier Classic, hosted by Indiana. Western Illinois dropped a close 3-2 decision to Butler in the Purple and Gold's opening match. Senior Ann Miller had a night to remember against the Bulldogs, recording 30 kills, a career-high. The 30 kills by Miller also ranks fourth most in program history for a single match, two kills shy of the record. On the weekend, Miller compiled a team-leading 60 kills. Miller's kills came from the efforts of senior setter Samantha Fournier. Fournier dished out 99 assists on the weekend, while collecting 22 kills of her own. Senior Molly Murphy handled the majority of the defensive work, registering 46 digs. 

ON THE AIR: All home matches this season will be available on the radio at 88.3 FM or online at 88.3thedog.com. 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. Live stream access can be found at goleathernecks.com/watch.

A LOOK AT DENVER: Denver heads to Macomb for the second time ever with an 11-3 record on the season. The Pioneers sit atop The Summit League standings and are the only conference team with a record above .500. Ruth Okoye, Erica Denney, and Sarah Schmid rank first, second, and third in the league in hitting percentage, while Bailey Karst is third in the league in assists (501). The Pioneers are led by head coach Jesse Mahoney, who is in his third season at the helm. As a team, Denver leads the conference in hitting percentage (.242), while holding opponents to a conference-leading .167 hitting percentage.

SERIES HISTORY: The Leathernecks and Pioneers will be seeing each other for just the third time ever, with Denver holding a 2-0 advantage after taking both meetings a season ago.

A LOOK AT OMAHA: The Mavericks are led by head coach Rose Shires, who is in her 25th season at Omaha. The team completed its nonconference schedule with a 5-8 record and hosts IUPUI before facing Western Illinois. The team picked up its fifth win of the season last time out, as they downed UT-Pan American by a 3-1 decision. Kelley Wollak leads the offense with 154 kills on the season, while Sydney O'Shaughnessy has a team-leading 272 assists. The Mavericks rank second in the conference in blocks, averaging 2.78 blocks/set. Individually, Megan Schmale is second in the conference with 1.22 blocks/set.

SERIES HISTORY: The Purple and Gold hold a 3-1 advantage all-time against Omaha, including sweeping the season series a year ago. Western Illinois claimed a 3-0 sweep at home on Sept. 28 and followed the performance with a second 3-0 sweep on Oct. 26. After dropping the first ever meeting, Western has claimed three straight victories.

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. Miller currently has 1,093 kills, and is 22 kills shy of moving into seventh place (1,114, Monique Houston).

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.
 

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