vs. Milwaukee (Oct. 6 - 6:00 pm): Live Stats | ESPN3
vs. Green Bay (Oct. 7 - 4:00 pm): Live Stats | ESPN3
 
INDIANAPOLIS – The IUPUI volleyball team is back at the Jungle for a three-game homestand that begins with two matches over the weekend. The Jags play host to Milwaukee on Friday (Oct. 6) at 6 p.m., before finishing the weekend with a 4 p.m. match against Green Bay on Saturday (Oct. 7).
 
Head Coach Steve Payne's squad went 1-1 on its first conference road trip of the season last weekend, falling to Cleveland State, 3-1, before earning its first three-set win of the season over Youngstown State. IUPUI (7-10, 3-1 Horizon) sits tied for second in the Horizon League and the Jags will be looking to move its home record (3-3) to over .500.
 
Offensively the Jags are led by senior Kori Waelbroeck who is averaging 3.87 kills/set on the season, which ranks Waelbroeck second in the Horizon League this season. Behind Waelbroeck is fellow senior Gabby Fisher who is averaging 2.43 kills/set. Maggie Gibson has continued her versatility for Coach Payne leading the team with 9.97 assists/set and second on the team with 3.01 digs/set.
 
The defense has been strong for the Jags this season, especially at the net, where IUPUI is second in the conference with 2.25 blocks per set. Abby Boatman leads the Jags and is second in the Horizon League with 1.12 blocks/set and Haley Hoffman ranks second on the team with 0.94 blocks/set. Senior Jessica Helms is tops on the team with 4.48 digs/set.

LEAGUE HONORS AGAIN FOR HELMS
Helms took home her second Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week Award on Monday (Oct. 2). Helms helped the Jags to a 1-1 weekend averaging 5.57 digs/set and reaching 20 digs for the fifth time this season in a three-set win against Youngstown State (Sept. 30). Helms is the only player in the Horizon League o win a player of the week award.
 
WAELBROECK NAMED SENIOR CLASS NOMINEE
Waelbroeck was named one of 30 senior volleyball student-athletes to be nominated for the Senior CLASS Award. The award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas; community, classroom, character and competition. The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. 

SCOUTING MILWAUKEE: Milwaukee (8-10, 1-3 Horizon) enters Friday night having lost two-straight games and seven of its last eight overall. On offense, Caitlin Schultz leads the Panthers overall with 3.21 kills/set but in Horizon League play, Bri Wallenberger is tops on the squad with 4.00 kills/set and a .390 hitting percentage, the best hitting percentage in conference play this season. Defensively, Milwaukee has allowed opponents to hit .242 on the season. Mykie Olsen leads the team with 3.55 digs/set and Wallenberger is the top blocker with 1.12 blocks/set.

SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE: Green Bay (8-7, 4-0 Horizon) is the lone remaining undefeated team coming in to the weekend and have only lost two sets in its four matches. The Phoenix are one of the best offensive teams in the Horizon League, leading the league in conference play in kills/set (15.07) and assists per set (14.14) and are second in hitting percentage (.258). For the season, Lydia DeWeese leads Green Bay with 3.57 kills/set and a .370 hitting percentage. Taylor Wolf is just behind DeWeese with 3.12 kills/set. In conference play, Green Bay has allowed opposing teams to hit just .150 and Vanessa Bauman leads the squad with 4.57 digs/set.

INSIDE THE SERIES-
    vs. Milwaukee: IUPUI 0-5 all-time against Milwaukee but it is a series that has not been played since 2004. The last time the Jags played the Panthers was a 3-1 Milwaukee win in Milwaukee. IUPUI has never hosted Milwaukee.
    vs. Green Bay: IUPUI is 2-4 all-time against Green Bay. The last meeting between the Jags and the Phoenix as a 3-2 IUPUI win on Sept. 9, 2016 in Springfield, Mo. The Jags have lost the only two home matchups with Green Bay, both of them being five set matches.

UP NEXT: IUPUI will continue its three-game homestand with a midweek matchup against Oakland on Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. After the game against the Grizzlies, IUPUI will travel to Chicago for a matchup against UIC on Saturday at 5 p.m.