INDIANAPOLIS – The IUPUI volleyball team hits the road this weekend for its final tournament prior to the start of Summit League play when it heads to Evanston, Ill., for the Wildcat Classic hosted by Northwestern.
This weekend's tournament format puts the Jaguars in action twice on Friday, Sept. 20, against Miami (OH) and South Florida, before taking on tournament host Northwestern on Sunday, Sept. 22. Friday's matches are set for 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. EST, while Sunday's match will begin at 2 p.m.
"We have another tough test this weekend against three quality opponents," head coach Steve Payne said. "It's important for us to limit our mistakes this weekend and build some momentum prior to starting conference play next weekend."
The Jags have lost four straight matches dipping their overall record to 4-8 on the season, but junior libero Beth Howard was a bright spot for IUPUI a week ago. She was named Summit League Defensive Player of the Week last week for the first time in her career after averaging 6.00 dps. She posted a season-high 33-dig performance against Southeast Missouri State to cap off the week, which began with a 20-dig performance that pushed her over 1,000 career digs. Her 4.87 digs per set is tops in the conference.
Offensively, Moriah Fair leads the team and is third in the conference in kills averaging 3.87 kills per set, while Kaitlyn Hickey has come on as of late and is second on the team in kills averaging 3.19 kps. Last Saturday, Hickey joined IUPUI's 20-20 club when she posted a career-high 25 kills and a career-best 28 digs in a five-set loss vs. Southeast Missouri State.
This weekend, the Jags open the Wildcat Classic against the Miami RedHawks, who come in with an 8-1 record on the season. Miami's early-season success has been due to its offensive efficiency and its defense play at the net. The RedHawks are outhitting their opponents .247 to .177 through nine matches, in addition to outblocking their opposition, 2.44 to 1.68, and Jenny Ingle is the primary reason for Miami's advantage in both categories. Ingle boasts a .396 hitting percentage resulting in 2.97 kps, while also averaging 1.06 bps.
The Bulls make the trip north with a 5-6 mark on the season and they are led offensively by Erin Fairs and her 3.44 kps. Similar to Miami, one of USF's strengths lies in its blocking ability. South Florida averages 2.59 bps and it has two players averaging over 1.00 bps in Andrea Rodriguez Gomez (1.30 bps) and Jennica Mullins (1.12 bps).
Tournament host Northwestern is 5-4 on the campaign and boasts a well-balanced offensive attack led by Stephanie Holthus' 3.53 kps. Holthus is one of five players averaging over 2.00 kps. Defensively, Northwestern is outblocking and outdigging its opponents, 2.16 to 2.04 and 15.12 to 14.74, respectively, but it holds a more decisive advantage in its serve game. The Wildcats have served up 41 aces through nine matches while only giving up 26 aces.
IUPUI is 2-1 all-time against Miami (OH), 0-2 against Northwestern, and Friday's match against USF will be the first meeting between the two programs.
