Who | Eastern Illinois

Where | Macomb, IL 

When | Thursday (Oct. 10 ), & Friday (Oct. 11) | 6:00 PM & 4:00 PM

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

 

Macomb, Ill - The Leatherneck Volleyball team returns home this week to take on in-state rival Eastern Illinois. Thursday's match is scheduled for 6 p.m and Friday's match is scheduled for 4 p.m. WIU is coming off of back-to-back losses for the first time since Sep. 13 after dropping both games at Tennessee Tech last week. WIU will look to get back in the win column after losing three straight matches. The Leathernecks currently sit in seventh place in the Ohio Valley Conference with a record of 2-3. 

On the Verge

Karli Wenzel and Maggie Craker are two leathernecks that are close to moving up even further in the record books for WIU. Wenzel currently has 1,619 career digs and is 131 digs away from being second all-time in career digs in Leatherneck Volleyball history. She has had 10 or more digs in 15 of the 16 matches played for the Leathernecks this season. 

Maggie Craker currently has 2,648 career assists and is 293 assists shy of being fourth all-time for career assists in program history. Craker had a season-high 52 assists back on Sep. 6 against South Dakota State and has had 30 or more assists in 12 of the 16 matches played for WIU this season. 
 

About EIU

The Panthers come into this matchup with an overall record of 4-10 and a conference record of 0-4. In conference play, EIU has been swept by Lindenwood and Southern Indiana and only one of those matches has gone further than three sets. 

Last season, EIU won the OVC volleyball tournament as the number one seed, sweeping every team that they faced. They defeated SEMO in the championship game to whom the Leathernecks lost to in the same tournament. The Panthers finished 28-5 overall with a conference record of 15-3. 

Outside Hitter Kaitlynn Flynn leads the Panther offense averaging just under 2.5 kills per set (2.51). The senior currently has 108 kills on the season with a hitting percentage of .161. Defensively, Libero Aridana Pereles leads the team in digs with a total of 117 (2.39 DIG/S). 

A look ahead

The Leathernecks will travel to Evansville, IN to take on Southern Indiana on Friday Oct. 18 and Saturday Oct. 19. Friday is set for 6:00 p.m and Saturday is set for 2 p.m. 
 

Follow the Leathernecks 

For all the latest information on Leatherneck Volleyball, please visit GoLeathernecks.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Leathernecks on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.