Who | Western Illinois (0-7, 0-6) at Denver (3-1, 3-1)

When | Sunday, Feb. 21 (6 p.m. CT) and Monday, Feb. 22 (5 p.m. CT)

Where | Denver, Colo. (Hamilton Gymnasium)

TV | Pioneers All-Access

Twitter | @WIUVolleyball

Quick Hits

• Before returning to its home floor, Western Illinois has one more stop in visiting the Denver Pioneers to conclude a small road stretch

• The Leathernecks are coming off of a series where they put up an admirable fight against the Kansas City Roos, who lead the Summit League standings. Day one went to five sets and day two ended in four

• In WIU's last few showings, Cassie Hunt has tallied three consecutive double-doubles performances. It is a first-time feat for the senior setter

• Denver currently holds the #2 spot in league rankings this season, right below Kansas City

Most Recently...

Facing the Roos, day one of the series went down as an absolute dogfight on Valentine's Day. WIU took the second and third sets, but ultimately fell in five to the host (23-25, 26-24, 25-22, 22-25, 11-15). Mariah Mitchell paced the attacking offense with 19 kills. Emma Norris also ended in double-figures for kills (11) while adding 16 digs. This line gave her a first double-double performance of 2020-21. Hunt and Gabby DePersio both finished with 19 digs, which was a season-high for the former. Additionally, Hunt chipped in a team-high 45 assists. Aubrey Putman narrowly missed out on getting her own double-double: nine kills and ten digs. Western had the upper hand in digs (80-71) and aces (7-4) over Kansas City while tying in blocks (9).

Day two was another one full of grit and different contributions from the Leathernecks, as Kansas City won in four sets (21-25, 15-25, 25-21, 20-25). Hunt produced 24 assists and 15 digs. Putman netted a team-leading ten kills, along with seven digs. Mitchell added eight kills, and Knoop finished with six - a season-high for the latter. Bowman, Hillyard, and Mitchell chipped in three assisted blocks each. DePersio's 16 digs were tied for the highest in the match.

You Dig It?

Western has out-dug its opponent four times this season and ranks second as a league member (16.89/set). DePersio has mainly contributed on that end with 120 of her own. Four weeks in, she still sits in the league's top five, individually. Norris and Hunt have stepped up on the defensive end as well, totaling 75 and 74 digs, respectively.  

Some Brief History

The last time these two teams met on Nov. 17, 2019, Denver took a 3-0 win. The Pioneers have won all 14 matchups between the two since the all-time series started in Oct. 2013.

Scouting the Pioneers

Denver leads the league in kills per set, hitting percentage, assists per set, blocks, and service aces… at the setter spot, Lorrin Poulter has generated 40 kills to lead her Pioneers… Tina Boe and Briann Green's 15 total blocks apiece tie for third-best in league individuals… Macy Carrabine has delivered eight aces in 13 sets and is the team-leader in digs (57)… Erica Andrich performs on both ends - her 29 kills and 38 digs places her within the team's top three leaders for both of those categories.