MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois volleyball continues Summit League play on Friday, October 9, as the Leathernecks host Denver inside Brophy Hall. WIU (3-15, 1-2) looks to pick up its second league victory of the season as they take on the Pioneers (16-4, 4-1), with things getting  started at 7 p.m. Following Friday's match, the Purple and Gold hit the road and head to Chicago for a Tuesday evening match against UIC. First serve between the Leathernecks and the Flames (8-9, 2-2) is set for 7 p.m. inside the Flames Athletic Center.

LAST TIME OUT: Western Illinois opened the home portion of its Summit League schedule this past Friday (Oct. 2) and Sunday (Oct. 4) with league matches against Fort Wayne and IUPUI. The Leathernecks battled the  Mastodons for five sets inside Brophy on Friday evening, dropping a 3-2 heartbreaking decision in the annual spirit game. Following action on Friday, the Leathernecks couldn't get any momentum going as they fell 3-0 to IUPUI Sunday afternoon. 

SERIES HISTORIES: Western Illinois and the Pioneers have only met four times previously, with Denver holding a 4-0 advantage against Western. The Pioneers have held the upper hand in the series, as Western has never won a set against Denver. UIC holds a 24-17 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools, but Western has claimed the last two meetings between the in-state foes. In 2014 Western knocked off the Flames, in Chicago, in five sets. In 2013, Western and UIC faced in a neutral site contest, a match in which WIU won, 3-0.

A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS: Denver enters Friday's contest with a 16-4 record including a 4-1 mark in Summit League play. The Pioneers have picked up three-straight league decisions North Dakota State (3-0), South Dakota State (3-0), and South Dakota (3-1). Sarah Schmid leads the way as Denver's middle hitter as her 43.1 hitting percentage and 94 total blocks rank 14th and fifth in the country, respectively. As a team, Denver ranks first in The Summit League in 11 statistical categories. UIC will play host to Green Bay and Milwaukee in conference action before welcoming the Leathernecks to the Windy City. Senior middle Stephenee Yancy is the Flames' top target, as her 4.37 kills per set leads the Horizon League.

ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS: Junior Kaili Simmons made the most of her Western Illinois debut at the 2015 Hampton Inn Leatherneck Invitational. The transfer from Missouri State-West Plains was named to the All-Tournament Team following a weekend in which she led the team in digs (42) and aces (5). The captain followed that performance with her second-career 'All-Tournament' from the Evansville Tournament. For the Weekend, Simmons tallied  43 digs, including 18 in Western's victory over Jackson State. Freshman Sierra Bauder claimed her first collegiate accolade at the Kansas Invitational as she was named to the All-Tournament Team. On the Weekend, Bauder collected 11 kills and eight blocks, with two of the opponents receiving votes in the latest polls. Jordan Jackson collected 'All-Tournament' honors from the Evansville Tournament as she helped guide Western to its first victory of 2015. In the win over Jackson State, Jackson tallied a career high 18 kills and season highs in aces (2) and blocks (7). Jackson ended the weekend with 34 kills over three matches. Peyton Crosser received Western's final All-Tournament accolade following the ISU Classic. During the tournament, Crosser recorded a season-best 16 kills against Valparaiso.

THE COACHING STAFF: Western Illinois is led by first-year head coach Kelly Richardson.  After serving as an assistant coach at UT-Arlington a season ago, Richardson joins the Leatherneck family and is joined by assistant coaches Dan Brown and Taylor Szypulski. Richardson has long-standing ties with Brown as Richardson and Brown's wife were college teammates. Richardson also knows Szypulski well, as the two were both assistant coaches at UT-Arlington during the 2014 season.