MACOMB, Ill. – Invitational play continues for the Western Illinois volleyball team as they travel to Iowa City, Iowa for the Hawkeye Classic on Sept. 2-3. The Leathernecks play in three matches over two days of competition, beginning with hosts Iowa on Friday at 11:30 a.m. Later that day, Western takes on Oakland at 4:30 p.m. before wrapping up competition on Saturday against Butler at 4:30 p.m.
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SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: The Hawkeyes are off to a fast 3-0 start after defeating Loyola (3-1), DePaul (3-0) and Northern Illinois (3-0) at the Northern Illinois Invitational on Aug. 27-28. Lauren Brobst leads Iowa with 38 kills and Keala Loxley has compiled 116 assists. Defensively, Annika Olsen leads the team with 46 digs. Oakland opened up the season 2-1 with victories over Bowling Green and VCU at the BGSU Hampton Inn Invitational. Melissa Deatsch leads the team with 38 kills and 28 digs while Jordan Lentz has 103 assists. Butler kicked off the 2016 season at the Utah Classic where they defeated Idaho State but fell to Gonzaga and Utah. Butler also picked up a midweek victory over Eastern Illinois to open the season 2-2. Anna Logan has picked up 89 kills on the young season with six service aces. Defensively, Taylor Takeda has 77 digs.
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SERIES HISTORIES: Iowa holds a 19-3 all-time series advantage over the Leathernecks. Western has not picked up a win over the Hawkeyes since September 22, 1982. This is the first time the teams have met since 2013 where Western dropped a 3-1 decision. WIU leads the all-time series over Oakland 19-12, but has dropped seven of the last 10 meetings. The teams last faced off on Sept. 20, 2013 where Western won 3-2. Butler leads the series 8-1. The Leathernecks dropped the last match against the Bulldogs on September 19, 2014 by a score of 3-2.
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LAST TIME OUT: Western opened the season at the Pepsi Panther Invitational on Aug. 26-27 where six Leathernecks made their debuts. After dropping the first two sets (25-19, 25-10) against Akron, the Leathernecks attempted a comeback, winning sets three and four (25-23, 25-21) before dropping the pivotal fifth set to fall 3-2. Junior transfer Shalyn Greenhaw (Muscatine/Illinois State) recorded a double-double with a team high 18 kills and 20 digs. Western was unable to pick up wins over Bradley or Milwaukee, dropping each match by a final score of 3-0.
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LEATHERNECK LEADERS: Greenhaw leads the team with 38 kills (3.45 per set) and ranks second on the team with 35 digs. Kaili Simmons is the team leader in digs with 38 while Lexi Kolschefski leads the team with 11 total blocks. Abby Skryd has picked up 51 assists, followed by freshman Hannah Walker who has 35.
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NEXT UP: The Leathernecks have a quick turnaround as they host Eastern Illinois on Tuesday, September 6 for the home opener at 7 p.m. inside Western Hall.
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LEATHERNECK NEWCOMERS: Western welcomes nine newcomers to this year's roster, including a freshman signing class of eight new members. Aleezah Washington (Plainfield, Ill.), Jenna Bryan (Carthage, Ill.), Kayla Gresl (Appleton, Wis.), Mackenzie Steckler (Wentzville, Mo.), Riley Schumacher (St. Charles, Ill.), Makenzie Bouse (Willard, Mo.), Hannah Walker (Battle Creek, Mich.) and Claire Grove (Naperville, Ill.) will look to add depth to the roster. Junior transfer Shalyn Greenhaw (Muscatine, Iowa) will bring experience and has been selected to The Summit League's Preseason Player to Watch List.
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LEATHERNECK RETURNERS: The Leathernecks return 10 players from a year ago (four starters). Libero Kaili Simmons and middle blocker Krishna Merriman lead the team as the two lone seniors. Simmons led the team in digs (381) and ranked second in aces (24) last season. The team leader in assists (764) and aces (31) from a year ago, Abby Skryd, also returns for the Purple and Gold.
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