INDIANAPOLIS – After splitting a two game road trip with a loss at South Dakota and a win over Omaha, the IUPUI volleyball team is back in action over the weekend with a home game Friday, Oct. 23 and a road rivalry matchup Saturday, Oct. 24.
The Jags will play host to Western Illinois, Friday night at 7 p.m., at the Jungle before heading up I-69 to take on the Mastodons of Fort Wayne Saturday night. IUPUI comes in to the weekend tied for Denver in first place in the Summit League with a record of 6-2.
Western Illinois comes in to the match Friday night having lost seven straight matches in league play, and have a record of 1-6 with an overall record of 3-19.
This is the second matchup against each team for the Jags this season. In the first matchup against Western Illinois, IUPUI swept the Leathernecks, 3-0 (25-13, 25-12, 25-14). In the matchup IUPUI forced Western Illinois in to a .000 hitting percentage as the Leathernecks committed 26 attack errors in the match. The Jags have won 15 straight matches in the series with Western Illinois having not lost since October 2007.
Western Illinois is led by senior Payton Crosser who is averaging 3.29 kps in league matches, good enough for sixth overall but the Leathernecks are hitting at a league worst .129 clip through seven matches this season.
IUPUI will be wearing pink on Friday night as part of the continued efforts to raise awareness in the continued fight against breast cancer. Funds raised for Side-Out go toward a clinical trial specifically for patients with stage 4 breast cancer, the most advanced form of the disease and the least funded area of research. Fans that make donations at Friday's match will receive a pink ribbon for their contribution. Those unable to attend can make their donations online by clicking the link.
Click here to donate now to IUPUI's Dig Pink initiative IUPUI will be looking for their fifth straight win against Fort Wayne on Saturday night. Earlier in the season IUPUI swept the Mastodons 3-0, (25-12, 25-19, 25-12). In the match the Jags hit .404 as a team and senior
Kaitlyn Hickey led the way with 14 kills.
Fort Wayne comes in to the match having been swept by South Dakota last Saturday (Oct. 17). The Mastodons have a 3-5 record in Summit League play and is 6-17 for the season.
Junior Somer Johnson leads the way for the 'Dons on offense with 3.71 kps, third highest in league play. Fellow junior Olivia Hahn is top in the league in digs per set with 4.82.
The Jags offense comes in to the weekend leading the league in hitting percentage as a team at .283. IUPUI has three of the top five hitters in its lineup. Senior
Kelly Wachtel is best in the league at .482, sophomore Kori Waelbroeck is fourth at .351 and junior
Logan Walling's .346 clip is good for fifth. Hickey is fourth in league play with 3.62 kps. Defensively, junior
Courtney Halter is second in Summit League play with 4.76 digs per set and IUPUI ranks second in the league as a team with 15.86 dps.
RECORD WATCH Kaitlyn Hickey currently sits at 1,477 digs for her career. Having already eclipsed 1,500 kills earlier in the season, 23 more digs would make Hickey the first Jag to ever achieve 1,500 kills and 1,500 digs. She would also become the first player in Summit League history to reach the 1,500-1,500 mark.
