Who:  Western Illinois vs. Chicago State | Little Rock

When: Tuesday (0ct. 3) |Friday & Saturday (Oct. 6-7)

Where: Macomb, IL

Social Media: @WIUVolleyball (Twitter) + wiu_volleyball (Instagram) + WIU Volleyball (Facebook)


Last Time Out | Western Illinois traveled to Morehead State this past weekend. The Leathernecks split both matches with the Eagles. On Friday night, the Leathernecks won in a five-set thriller, coming from behind in set five. WIU fell in straight sets on Saturday. Keyana led the way with 26 kills.

OVC Standings | Through the first four matches of OVC, the Leathernecks are sitting in 5th place in conference play with a 2-2 record. WIU takes on Little Rock this weekend, who sit at 1-3 after four matches.

Climbing the Record Book | Maggie Craker and Karli Wenzel are on the verge of cracking the top ten in career assists and digs. Craker currently sits at 1,429 career assists, 59 assists away from Jaime Johnson and Caryn Heise, who sit at 1,488. Wenzel enters the weekend at 1,044 career digs. Just 82 digs away from Rachel Horvat for the number ten spot.

Top Half of the OVC | Keyana Cruse has been leading the offensive charge for the Leathernecks this season. The Bonner Springs native currently sits third in the OVC in kills per set (3.61) and fourth in points per set (4.03)

Season Best | Multiple Leathernecks set season highs against Morehead State. Elizabeth Ziegler set a season-high in kills (15), points (18.5), and total blocks (6). Julianna Schmidt also set new highs in points (12.5). 

Scouting Chicago State | Chicago State sits at 8-5 overall on the year, falling to West Virginia in their last match 3-2. CSU has faced multiple similar opponents as the Leathernecks, going 1-2 against those opponents.

Scouting Little Rock | Little Rock heads into the weekend with a 1-3 OVC record. They fell in five sets to Tennessee Tech on Friday before rebounding with a 3-0 sweep of TTU on Saturday. Daedrianna Cail had 14 kills and 13 blocks in her two games against Tennessee Tech.