Who | Western Illinois (3-17, 2-7) vs. Omaha (10-8, 7-1) and Denver (16-2, 7-1)

When | Thursday, Oct. 21 (vs. Omaha) and Saturday, Oct. 23 (vs. Denver)

Where | Macomb, Ill. (Western Hall)

Social Media | Twitter + Instagram + Facebook + #TRADITIONofTOUGH
 

Quick Hits

• Having reached the midpoint of October, just over a month remains on Western Illinois volleyball's regular-season schedule. The Leathernecks have home rematches against Omaha and Denver this week on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.

• WIU played the Mavericks and Pioneers during week one of Summit League play, dropping both contests on the road.

• Omaha and Denver are tied for the top spot in league standings.

Most Recently … | Last week, Western brought Kansas City (Oct. 14) and Oral Roberts (Oct. 16) to Macomb for matches. Kansas City won in a 3-0 sweep (23-25, 22-25, 20-25). Brittany Wulf reached a new single-match, career-high in kills (15). Maggie Craker posted 31 assists and 18 digs (career-high). Karli Wenzel also set a new personal-best in service aces (3), along with 21 digs to lead WIU. Aubrey Putman chipped in eight kills and six digs.

In a loss against Oral Roberts (15-25, 27-29, 23-25), Wulf again paced the Leatherneck offense, tallying a team-high 11 kills. Craker finished with 25 assists and 12 digs. Peyton Bowman had six kills and five blocks, while Wenzel added 17 digs.

A Wulf is On the Prowl | Outside hitter Brittany Wulf has emerged as a valuable presence for the Leathernecks over the past few weeks. Her powerful attacks resulted in the first-year ending as a team leader in kills for three of the last four matches. Wulf has started four matches this season and is sixth on the team in kills (81). 

More First-Year Promise | Maggie Craker's five double-doubles are the most on the squad this year -- all happening from a combination of assists and digs. She has moved her way up into being the top Leatherneck in total assists (334) while also being fourth in digs (111) and third in service aces (12). Her assists per set average (7.11) stands seventh-best in the league.

A Brief History | Omaha is currently on a nine-match winning streak against WIU that the Leathernecks will look to break. Denver, meanwhile, is still undefeated in the all-time series (15-0).

Scouting the Opposition | As a team, Omaha is at the league's top in digs per set (16.62). Defensive standout Claire Mountjoy paces that side of the floor with 306 digs on the year thus far. Sadi Limback has been one of the league's most dangerous hitters -- leading all individuals with 3.76 kills per set and a .329 hitting percentage. Sami Clarkson's 10.50 assists per set ranks second-best in the Summit. 

Holding the best overall record in the Summit (16-2), Denver is at the top of multiple team categories within the league: hitting percentage (.274), kills per set (13.69), and service aces per set (2.00). Tina Boe has been the most efficient hitter (.436), and Lydia Bartalo's 46 aces lead the league by a wide margin. A two-way performer, Bartalo is also the Pioneers' best in kills (167) and second in digs (151).

What's Next? | After completing its homestand this week, WIU travels to the state of North Dakota for road matches at the University of North Dakota (Oct. 28) and North Dakota State (Oct. 30).