Live Stats (for all six matches)
INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI volleyball team will host the annual Hampton Inn Invitational this weekend in The Jungle, welcoming Marquette, Miami and Wichita State for the two-day, four-team event. Play will begin with a pair of matches on Friday (Sept. 1), followed by a full slate of four matches on Saturday (Sept. 2). Admission will be free of charge throughout and live stats will available for all six matches via IUPUIJags.com.
IUPUI (2-2) comes in licking its chops after back-to-back losses to Florida Gulf Coast and Fort Wayne after opening the year with consecutive wins over Georgia Southern and Florida International. Senior
Kori Waelbroeck has been an offensive workhorse, averaging 4.40 kills per set while earning more than 30 percent of the team's attack attempts. Junior setter
Maggie Gibson has been efficient at the net with a .407 hitting percentage to accompany her team-high 9.73 assists per set. She and
Abby Boatman are tied for the team lead in blocks with 23 each. Reigning Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week
Jessica Helms has excelled in the back row, averaging 5.73 digs per set.
Head Coach
Steve Payne's team is 2-0 in neutral site matches this year and 0-2 in true road games. The Jags two wins have come in extended sets while the two defeats have come in straight sets. This year's Hampton Inn Invite field is among the best in the tournament's long history.
"These are some top 50 RPI teams coming in, so it's going to be a very high level of play," Payne said. "We're looking forward to the opportunity to play at home and host some really good, strong, well coached teams."
The full slate of games is as follows:
Friday, Sept. 1
4:30 pm - Marquette vs. Miami (Ohio)
7:00 pm - IUPUI vs. Wichita State
Saturday, Sept. 2
10:00 am - Wichita State vs. Marquette
12:30 pm - IUPUI vs. Miami (Ohio)
5:00 pm - Miami (Ohio) vs. Wichita State
7:00 pm - IUPUI vs. Marquette
Team awards and an All-Tournament Team will be awarded at the conclusion of the two days. In addition, full coverage will be available on IUPUIJags.com throughout.
Scouting Marquette: Marquette is 1-2 to start the year, having defeated Hawaii and lost to UCLA and San Diego in Honolulu. Allie Barber leads Marquette with 4.44 kills/set while Martha Konovodoff has a team-high 3.78 digs/set. Jenna Rosenthal is MU's top blocker and 1.67 blocks/set.
Scouting Miami (Ohio): Miami is 3-1 to start the year with wins over Southern Illinois, Northern Arizona and at Xavier. Miami's lone loss was a season-opening home loss to Western Kentucky. Miami's offense is paced by Margaret Payne's 3.40 kills/set and .315 hitting percentage while Maeve McDonald leads the team with 5.40 digs/set. MacKenzie Zielinski and Morgan Seaman split the setting duties, averaging 6.60 and 4.93 assists/set, respectively.
Scouting Wichita State: Wichita State is 3-0 to start the year, boasting straight set wins over Lipscomb, East Tennessee State and Belmont in Nashville on opening weekend. The Shockers get 4.00 kills/set from Tabitha Brown and 3.00 kills/set from Abbie Lehman. Defensively, Wichita State held its first three opponents to hitting just .110 while swinging .264 on offense. Giorgia Civita averages a team-high 5.33 digs/set and Emma Wright has a team-high 15 blocks.
Inside the Series: IUPUI is 0-3 against Marquette, 3-2 versus Miami (Ohio) and 1-1 against Wichita State. The Jags lost to both Marquette and Wichita State last season in straight sets and last faced Miami in 2014.
