INDIANAPOLIS – IUPUI closes out its 2017 regular season with a home match against UIC on Saturday (Nov. 11). The Jags will honor four seniors before the match against the Flames.

IUPUI will honor the careers of seniors Ashley Hacker, Jessica Helms, Gabby Fisher and Kori Waelbroeck before the match. The match still might have some meaning for the Horizon League Championship, depending on what happens Friday (Nov. 10). If UIC beats Oakland before playing the Jags, IUPUI could finish second in the conference with a win.

Head coach Steve Payne's squad suffered a heart-breaking loss to Oakland on Wednesday (Nov. 8). The Jags fell behind 2-0 in the match but stormed back to force a fifth set. The Jags grabbed an early lead in the fifth set but fell 15-13 to the Golden Grizzlies in a match that saw each set decided by three points or less. It was the first five-set loss in conference play for the Jags (4-1).

The Jags were led by Waelbroeck who finished with 20 kills and 18 digs, both team highs. Haley Hoffman had 14 kills, Fisher had 11 and Maddie Dean had her third-straight game with double-figure kills, finishing with 10.

On the season, Waelbroeck is the leader on offense for the Jags. Waelbroeck's 20 kills against Oakland was the ninth time this season that she finished with 20 or more kills in a game. The senior is second in the Horizon League with 3.79 kills per set. Hoffman sits fifth in the conference with a .308 hitting percentage.

The offense has been guided by versatile junior Maggie Gibson who is averaging 9.91 assists per set and is second on the team with 3.71 digs per set while also averaging 0.70 blocks per set and 0.61 kills per set. 

On the defensive end, the Jags are the second best team in the Horizon League in digs per set 16.98 and blocks per set 2.42. On the back line, the Jags are led by senior Jessica Helms who is averaging 4.28 digs on the year. At the net, IUPUI is led by Abby Boatman who is second in the league with 1.15 blocks/set and Hoffman who is fifth in the league at 1.06. Both players have increased their performance in conference play as both are fourth in the league with 1.21 blocks per set. Waelbroeck is also in the top ten in blocks per set in Horizon League play with 1.08 per set.

SCOUTING UIC: UIC (17-10, 8-6 Horizon) plays Oakland on Friday (Nov. 10) before playing IUPUI on Saturday. Coming in to the weekend, UIC had won four-straight games before a 3-0 loss to Northern Kentucky on Nov. 4. Kyisha Hunt leads the Flames on offense with 3.74 kills per set. Behind Hunt, Manuela Conte (2.22 kills/set) and Alexandria Hicks (2.18 kills/set) are the other two Flames averaging over two kills per set. Ali Witt has the highest hitting percentage for UIC at .306. Defensively, UIC sits near the bottom of the conference. The Flames are sixth in digs per set (15.86) and eighth in blocks per set (1.81).

LAST MEETING: IUPUI took the first meeting with the Flames this year in Chicago. The Jags came away with the five-set win as the teams alternated set wins with IUPU winning the deciding frame 15-11. The Jags out-blocked UIC 16-6 which was a season-high for IUPUI. Waelbroeck led the offense with 23 kills and finished with a double-double adding 14 digs. Hoffman was the other Jag in double-figures with 10 kills and finished with eight blocks. Boatman finished second on the team with seven blocks in the match. Five Jags also finished with double-digit digs, led by Elizabeth Scott who finished with a career-high 19.

UP NEXT: The Jags will participate in the Horizon League Volleyball Championship. The tournament will be played at either Cleveland State or Oakland depending on the outcomes of games this weekend. The Jags can either be the two-seed and earn a first round bye or will be the three-seed and play on Friday (Nov. 17).