Tournament Central
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Three wins in its last four matches have evened the IUPUI volleyball team's record at 4-4, and the Jaguars will look to continue their winning ways when they head to Columbus, Ohio, this weekend for the Sports Imports DC Koehl Classic hosted by Ohio State.
The Jaguars will take on the 13th-ranked Buckeyes Friday night at 7 p.m. at St. John Arena, before squaring off against Xavier and Southeast Missouri State at 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively, on Saturday.
"We've definitely been tested early on this season and that will continue this weekend against three tough teams, including a ranked Ohio State team," head coach Steve Payne said. "We played Ohio State tough last year, but that was on a neutral floor and Friday's match will be even more of a challenge playing them on their home floor. Things won't get any easier on Saturday against two teams with winning records in Xavier and Southeast Missouri State. We have our work cut out for us, but this weekend will be a great test for us."
Gametracker will be available for all IUPUI matches and Friday evening's match against Ohio State will be available on BTN.com. A replay of Friday night's match between the Jaguars and the Buckeyes will also air at 10 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 23, on the Big Ten Network.
IUPUI is coming off a mid-week, four-set win over Indiana State on Tuesday in which the Jags were led offensively by the trio of Moriah Fair, Kaitlyn Hickey and Kelly Wachtel. Fair, Hickey and Wachtel are the Jags top three hitters through nearly a quarter of the season, and Fair's team-high 4.06 kps ranks second in the Summit League entering the weekend.
One of the strengths for the Jaguars continues to be their serving. Last season, the Jags finished its 32-match schedule with 99 aces, and already this season they have served up 56 aces. IUPUI is led in that category by Meredith Farkas, Logan Walling and Alexis Meeks, with Farkas ranking first in the conference averaging 0.48 sa/s, while Walling and Meeks are fourth and fifth, respectively, averaging 0.36 sa/s and 0.33 sa/s.
The Buckeyes moved up 10 spots in the most recent AVCA Poll to No. 13 following wins over No. 16 Western Kentucky, No. 15 Florida State and Florida Gulf Coast last weekend. Ohio State was led during that stretch by outside hitter Kaitlyn Leary, who posted 5.5 kps and 1.8 dps while hitting .329 en route to being named the Sheraton Seminole Invitational MVP. Just a few days later, she was named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week.
Xavier enters the tournament as winners of five of its last matches following a season-opening loss to No. 7 Michigan. The Musketeers have a balanced offensive attack with four players averaging over 2.00 kps, and collectively they are hitting at an efficient .292. Defensively, Xavier has put up a strong block in the early stages of the season outblocking its opponents, 2.10 to 1.60.
Southeast Missouri State comes in with a 4-2 record, highlighted by a 3-1 win over Mississippi State on Aug. 31. Emily Coon and Colleen Yarber lead the way averaging 3.22 kps and 3.17 kps, and similar to Xavier, the Redbirds have a strong block up front led by Taylor Masterson's 1.22 bps.
