Complete Notes

MACOMB, Ill. - The Fighting Leatherneck volleyball team returns home to host the 2014 Hampton Inn Leatherneck Invitational. The tournament and home debut of the Purple and Gold, will welcome Eastern Illinois, Saint Louis, and UTEP. Western will open its tournament play with Eastern Illinois on Friday at 7 p.m. (CT), and will follow that up with a pair of matches Saturday against UTEP (12 p.m.) and Saint Louis (7 p.m.).

All matches will take place inside Western Hall.

ACTION RECAP: Western Illinois opened the 2014 season in Muncie, Ind. for the Ball State Tournament. The Purple and Gold dropped all three of their matches on the weekend, but senior defensive specialist Molly Murphy was named to the All-Tournament Team after recording a team-leading 39 digs. Freshmen Courtney Joyce and Kayla Ruff made their Leatherneck debuts, with Joyce playing every set. Junior Peyton Crosser, made her Leatherneck debut this past weekend as well after transferring from Indian Hills CC.

INVITATIONAL CENTRAL: Fans are encouraged to go to the invitational central page, where they will find news and information regarding every team, an invitational calendar, as well as links to stats, audio, and video. The invitational central page can be found HERE

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 be on the call this weekend. Fans will also have the opportunity to watch a live stream (subscription required) of every match this weekend, with Eric Sutera handling the announcing duties. Live stream access can be found at goleathernecks.com/watch.

A LOOK AT EASTERN ILLINOIS: Eastern Illinois enters the tournament 2-1, after posting wins over Ball State and Western Illinois at the Ball State Tournament one week ago. The Panthers are led by Kate Price in her 5th season, and have been picked to finish second in the Ohio Valley Conference. Price was named the 2013 OVC 'Coach of the Year' and leads 10 returning letterwinners, paced by juniors Marah Bradbury and Chelsea Lee. Bradbury, a setter, has recorded 127 assists this season, while collecting 17 kills of her own. Lee currently ranks second on the team in kills (35) and total blocks (6).

SERIES HISTORY: The two teams have met 40 times previously, with Eastern Illinois holding a 26-14 advantage. The Panthers took the last meeting, a three-set decision last weekend at the Ball State Tournament. The Leathernecks claimed a pair of back-to-back victories in 2006 and 2008.

A LOOK AT SAINT LOUIS: Saint Louis heads to Macomb with a 1-3 record on the season, posting a victory over Southeast Missouri State last weekend. Freshman outside hitter Nenye Okoro earned Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Week honors after recording 2.53 kills/set, 2.47 digs/set, and 10 blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Danielle Rygelski was named to the All-Tournament Team. Head Coach Kent Miller is in his fourth season at the helm of the Billikens.

SERIES HISTORY: This wekeend will mark the 23rd meeting between the two programs, with Saint Louis holding a 14-8 advantage. The two teams last met in 2012, with Western Illinois claiming a 3-0 victory in Charleston.

A LOOK AT UTEP: UTEP, led by Holly Watts in her second season in control of the program, is 0-3 on the season, dropping all three matches in Albuquerque, N.M. last weekend. Offensively, the Miners are paced by Lindsey Larson, who was named to the Lobo Classic All-Tourament team after leading the squad with 77 assists. Coline Coessens collected 28 kills, 15 digs, and four total blocks on the weekend, while Krystal Ejesieme recorded 11 blocks in her weekend debut. 

SERIES HISTORY: This is the first meeting between the Miners and Leathernecks.

2014 TEAM CAPTAINS: Seniors Ann Miller and Sam Fournier will serve as captains this season. Miller is the current team leader with 936 kills, (2.98 k/s), while also recording 878 digs and 49 aces. Fournier has compiled 824 kills (3.18 k/s), 545 digs, and 108 total blocks.

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.