INDIANAPOLIS – Returning to the hardwood for his 20th season at the helm of IUPUI volleyball, head coach
Steve Payne will lead his program back into battle this weekend (Aug. 26-27), as the Jaguars will host the annual Hampton Inn Invitational in opening action for the 2016 season. The tournament will feature Duquesne, Central Michigan and Southern Illinois all making the trip to the Jungle.
One of the toughest overall schedules in recent memory, IUPUI will face 11 teams this season that ranked in the top-100 in ratings percentage index (RPI) in 2015. Seven of those teams finished in the top-50, while two ranked in the top-25.
Last season, IUPUI finished 21-10 overall with a 12-4 mark in Summit League action. The Jaguars advanced to their fourth-straight Summit League Tournament after finishing second in the regular season standings, which marked the 14th time that Coach Payne has taken his team to the League Tournament. For their efforts, the Jags saw three players land on the All-Summit League teams, including this year's "Players to Watch" selection,
Kori Waelbroeck.
The Duquesne Dukes, whom the Jags will face Friday (Aug. 26) at 7 p.m. in the Jungle in the official season opener, come off a 14-15 season with an 8-6 record against Atlantic 10 opposition. It marks the start of the 19th season for head coach Steve Opperman, who returns six out of seven starters from a season ago. The Dukes feature four freshman this season to three seniors, and landed two players on the All-Atlantic 10 teams from a year ago. The sixth-seeded Dukes were defeated in the first round of their conference tournament.
The Jags will face Central Michigan Saturday (Aug. 27) in their matinee match (12:30 p.m.) of the second day of the tournament. The Chippewas finished the 2015 season at 11-18 overall with a 6-10 record in the Mid-American Conference. CMU started that season at the IPFW Tournament, going 1-2 in the event with a 3-2 victory over the University of Illinois-Chicago. The team's best stretch of the season came when the squad went 5-3 over eight matches, starting with a 3-0 sweep of San Jose State at the Chippewa Challenge and ending with a straight-set sweep of Toledo. However, Central Michigan came undone at the end of the season, dropping six of the final seven matches en route to not making the conference tournament. The team features just one senior player this season, with three freshman making their collegiate debuts.
Perhaps the most daunting of the weekend foes, Southern Illinois will face the Jags in the final match of the tournament, set for 7 p.m. Saturday (Aug. 27) in the Jungle. The Salukis were recently named the 18th ranked team in the VolleyballMag.com inaugural mid-major poll, a list of schools considered to be the best programs that do not compete in a power-conference. A strong showing in 2015, the Salukis went 23-10 overall with a 14-4 record in Missouri Valley action. For their efforts, the Salukis advanced to the first round of the NCAA Tournament despite not winning the MVC-Tournament. In a strange season that featured a strong favoring for the home team, SIU defeated all of the top contenders in the MVC, including Northern Iowa, Illinois State, Missouri State and Wichita State, when they were competing at home. Overall, the team went 11-2 went playing in Carbondale, Illinois. On the road, however, the Salukis were not nearly as strong, dropping every match to the aforementioned competition, including a straight-set sweep against Illinois in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The team returns five out of seven starters from last year, and welcome in six newcomers to the program this season.
The Saturday matches for IUPUI will have live video coverage available on IUPUIJags.com for free, complete with play-by-play coverage in addition to live coverage via Twitter. For access to the video coverage of the matches, please visit the following link.
http://iupuijags.com/watch/?Live=431
This season, the parking situation at IUPUI has changed. The highlighted parking lots on the map below show spots that are available during weeknights/weekends, free of ticketing. Parking in those lots before 5 p.m. Monday through Friday will result in a parking citation being issued. The parking garages are available to those who wish to pay the displayed parking rates located at the entrance to the facility. The below map also displays entrance points to the Natatorium, labeled by the black circles.
For live updates, player features, scores, stories and more, follow all of the action at IUPUIJags.com.
