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FARGO, N.D. – Following wins over Oakland and Fort Wayne last weekend to secure the program’s first outright regular-season Summit League title, the IUPUI volleyball team shifts its focus to The Summit League Tournament that will be played this weekend in Fargo, N.D., at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.

The top-seeded Jaguars are set to take on the fourth-seeded Kansas City Kangaroos at 8:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 16, following the 6 p.m. ET match between second-seeded Fort Wayne and third-seeded Oakland.

The Jags and Kangaroos split the regular-season series with each team winning on their home floor.

“We’re obviously very excited to be here and we’re coming off a great weekend, but we’re focused on a very good Kansas City team,” head coach Steve Payne. “They come in here winning their last two matches and they have one of the top hitters in the league in Emily Lucas, so we’re going to have to be on top of our game in order to advance.”

IUPUI finished the conference campaign ranked first in kills per set (14.48 kps), hitting percentage (.234) and assists per set (13.61 aps), and second in digs per set (19.44 dps) and blocks per set (2.45 bps).

Part of the reason the Jags finished first in kills per set in conference-only matches is because of their balanced offensive attack. IUPUI is the only team in the conference to have three players rank in the Top 12 in kills led by Moriah Fair’s 3.63 kps. Kaitlyn Hickey and Kelsey Hoefer rank 10th and 12th, respectively, in kills per set averaging 3.30 kps and 2.82 kps.

Bethany Fogler has been a steady force for IUPUI on both sides of the net and ranks second in the league in hitting percentage hitting at a .336 clip, while also ranking second in blocking at 1.28 bps.

Beth Howard anchors the back-row defense averaging 5.33 dps to rank fourth in the league, while Hickey’s 4.38 dps rank ninth.
Kansas City finished in a tie for third in the regular-season standings with Oakland, but earned the No. 4 seed due to tiebreakers. The Kangaroos are led offensively by Emily Lucas’ 4.47 kps, which ranks second in the Summit League.

The winner of the IUPUI/Kansas City match plays the winner of the Fort Wayne/Oakland match at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 17, for the conference tournament title and for the automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Volleyball Tournament.