INDIANAPOLIS – After a five set battle against Oral Roberts in which IUPUI set a team record for blocks, the Jags will hit the road for the weekend with matches against Denver and North Dakota State.
 
IUPUI comes in to the weekend having won five straight matches and boasting a 19-7 overall record. The Jags are currently in first place in the Summit League with a conference record of 10-2.
 
Friday, Nov. 6, the Jags will travel to Denver to take on the Pioneers at 9 p.m. This will be a matchup of the top two teams in the league as Denver comes in one game behind IUPUI with a 9-3 conference mark. The Jags and the Pioneers opened conference play against each other back on Sept. 26, with IUPUI taking home the hard fought 3-2 victory.
 
The matchup against Denver will pit the top two offensive teams in the Summit League against each other. IUPUI comes in to the match with a league high .270 team hitting percentage and Denver is second at .267. Denver has the advantage in kills per set with 14.05 kps while IUPUI sets at 13.80 kps.
 
These two teams will also bring the top blocking defenses to the court as IUPUI leads the league with 2.63 blocks per set in league play and Denver sits in second at 2.42 bps.
 
The block has taken center stage for the Jaguars recently. In the last four matches IUPUI has 60 blocks as a team, including setting a school record with 19 against Fort Wayne on Oct. 24. That record would only last a week, as IUPUI would beat Oral Roberts on Nov. 1 with 21 team blocks. The 60 blocks by the Jags in the last four matches are one fewer than the team had in the previous eight.
 
Leading the defense for the Jags is junior Logan Walling. Walling set a career and school record for total blocks in a match with 12 against Oral Roberts. Walling's 10 block assists against ORU tied a school record. Walling has had 27 blocks in her last four matches and is currently tied for the lead in blocks in Summit League play with 59.
 
IUPUI will finish the road trip with a Sunday (Nov. 8) afternoon matchup against North Dakota State, that is set to start at 2 p.m. The Jags took the first match against the Bison (15-11, 6-6), 3-1 on Oct. 10. NDSU led on offense by Jenni Fassbender, who sits in fifth in league play with 3.43 kills per set. Defensively Mikaela Purnell leads the Bison with 4.68 digs per set, good enough for third in the league and Emily Minnick leads the league with 15 solo blocks in league matches.
 
The Jags are led on offense by senior Kelly Wachtel, whose .392 hitting percentage is tops in the league. Sophomore Kori Waelbroeck is third in the league at .337. Senior Kaitlyn Hickey is third in conference play with 3.74 kills per set. On the defensive side senior Courtney Halter# is fourth in the league in digs at 4.61 digs per set.