Tournament Central

INDIANAPOLIS – On Tuesday, the IUPUI volleyball opened its home schedule in impressive fashion disposing of Indiana State in three sets. This weekend, the Jaguars look to continue their strong play when they host the 2012 IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational at The Jungle.

This year’s tournament begins on Friday, Aug. 31, and will feature matches between Georgia State and Ball State, and North Texas and IUPUI at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. The tournament concludes with four matches on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. and following with 12:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. tilts. On Saturday, IUPUI will play at 12:30 p.m. against Georgia State and in the finale at 7 p.m. against Ball State.

Defense has been key in helping IUPUI jump out to a 3-1 start this season as the Jags are out-blocking their opponents 1.9 bps - 1.5 bps, while also out-digging them 16.9 dps - 15.7 dps. Bethany Fogler has started the season where she left off last year leading the team in blocks with 0.93 bps, while Beth Howard has stepped into the libero spot been and been impressive in averaging 5.53 dps.

Offensively, the outside hitter duo of Moriah Fair and Kaitlyn Hickey have been producing at a high level accounting for just under half of the team’s kill total thus far.

North Texas enters the weekend with an unblemished 5-0 record following wins over Prairie View A&M, UMKC, Houston Baptist, Lamar and UT-Arlington. The Mean Green have two players averaging over 3.00 kps in Courtney Windham (3.94) and Carnae Dillard (3.06), and that duo also leads the team in blocking at 1.62 bps and 1.00 bps, respectively.

Ball State comes into town with a split record of 2-2 and it is coming off a four-set loss to IPFW on Tuesday. Kara Bates paces the offensive attack averaging 3.53 kps, but the Cardinals main strength lies in their ability to dig the ball as they collectively average 16.00 dps compared to 13.47 for their opponents.

Finally, Georgia State makes the trek to Indianapolis with a 1-2 overall record. The Panthers feature a balanced offensive attack with six players averaging over 1.00 kps.

All IUPUI matches can be viewed via IUPUI Live! on IUPUIJags.com for $4.95 per match, or fans can purchase a volleyball season pass for $9.95. Live stats will be available on IUPUIJags.com for all matches.

Admission is free for all fans and parking information can be found on Page 7 of the Visitor’s Guide. Fans should also be aware that on Saturday, Sept. 1, there will be lane closures due to the Indianapolis  Women’s Half Marathon and 5K that will affect traffic on the IUPUI campus.

On Saturday, fans planning to arrive at The Jungle between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. should travel west on 10th Street (from Meridian St.) and turn left on University Blvd. Take University Blvd., to Michigan Ave. and turn right. Turn left on to Barnhill Dr., and proceed to New York St. Turn left on New York St. and then turn right on to University Blvd. Take University Blvd. down to Military Park and make your way back around to the parking garages.