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INDIANAPOLIS – A big weekend looms for the IUPUI volleyball team this weekend when it heads to Fort Wayne, Ind., to take on in-state rival IPFW on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m.
The Jags enter the weekend in a first-place tie in The Summit League with South Dakota at 9-2, while Denver sits two games back at 7-4, and IPFW follows at 6-5. In addition to IUPUI playing at IPFW, South Dakota also will be making the trip to Denver to take on the Pioneers on Saturday.
"IPFW is a great rivalry game for us and every match we play with them is always competitive," head coach
Steve Payne said. "They have one of the top players in the conference and they are undefeated at home. We have a big challenge ahead of us, but we are looking forward to the opportunity."
The Mastodons have won four of their last five matches and come into the weekend with a perfect 8-0 record at the Gates Sports Center this season. Offensively, IPFW is led by Emily Spencer and her 4.88 kills per set, which ranks second in the conference in league-only matches. As an outside hitter, Spencer is hitting an impressive .254, but Hailie Ripley is pacing the squad in that category hitting at a .340 clip. Ripley also leads the team in blocking averaging 0.98 bps.
After conference-opening losses at South Dakota and Denver, the Jaguars have reeled off nine consecutive Summit League victories, including a pair last weekend at Omaha and Western Illinois. Over the last five matches,
Kaitlyn Hickey has elevated her level of play and is averaging a team-best 4.11 kps during that stretch, in addition to 4.16 dps and 0.53 bps. Hickey comes into the weekend ranked in the Top 5 in league-only matches in kills (3.72 kps) and digs (3.62 kps). Also joining her in the Top 5 in those respective categories are
Moriah Fair (4
th, 3.94 kps) ) and
Beth Howard (1
st, 4.62 dps).
IPFW leads the all-time series over IUPUI, 22-12, but the Jags have won two of the last three meetings. However, the Jaguars last win in Fort Wayne occurred on Nov. 14, 2008, in three sets.
