INDIANAPOLIS – The IUPUI volleyball team hits the road for its first Horizon League road trip, starting with a trip to Cleveland State on Friday night (Sept. 29) at 6:00 p.m. The Jags finish the trip on Saturday (Sept. 30) with a match against Youngstown State at 4 p.m.
 
Head Coach Steve Payne's team started Horizon League play strong with a five set win over Wright State and a 3-1 in over Northern Kentucky. IUPUI (6-9, 2-0 Horizon) will be looking for its first road win of the season having lost the first four road contests of the year.
 
The Jags are led on offense by senior Kori Waelbroeck's 3.93 kills/set and fellow senior Gabby Fisher, who is second on the squad with 2.39 kills/set. Junior Maggie Gibson is tops on the team averaging 9.95 assists per set and ranks second in digs (2.97 digs/set), behind senior Jessica Helms' 4.35/set. Junior Abby Boatman leads IUPUI at the net with 65 blocks.

LEAGUE HONORS FOR WAELBROECK
Waelbroeck was named Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 25 for her performances against Wright State and Northern Kentucky. Against the Raiders, Waelbroeck posted a season-high 28 kills to two errors, hitting .448, and added 12 kills against the Norse. The senior posted double-doubles in both matches adding 13 and 14 digs respectively. Waelbroeck is the second Jaguar to take home Horizon League weekly honors after teammate Jessica Helms won Defensive Player of the Week the first week of the season (Aug. 28).

SCOUTING CLEVELAND STATE: Cleveland State (8-5, 1-1 Horizon) will play its first home game of the season win the Vikings host the Jags. The Vikings split their opening weekend of conference play with a 3-1 win at Milwaukee followed by a 3-1 loss at UIC. Senior Alexis Middlebrooks paces the Cleveland State offense with a team-high 3.19 kills/set as Shannon Grega (4.38 digs/set) leads the defense. Middlebrooks (37 blocks) and Mariah Carrero-Johnson (35 blocks) are the top net presence for the Vikings. Cleveland State is tops in the Horizon League as a team in hitting percentage (.269), kills/set (13.82) and assists/set (13.16).

SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE: Youngstown State (7-9, 0-2 Horizon) went 0-2 in its conference opening weekend as the Penguins were swept at UIC and at Green Bay. The attack struggled in the first to conference matches, hitting a conference low .064 and only averaging 8.67 kills/set. Youngstown State has a 2-3 record at home but has lost three of its last four games on its home court. The offense is a well balanced attack led by Sarah Varcolla with 2.78 kills/set, while teammates Margaux Thompson (2.37 kills/set), Marketa Plesingrova (2.24 kills/set) and Sam Brown (2.09 kills/set) are also offensive options for the Penguins. Defensively, Lauren Blanco leads the way with 4.18 digs/set.

INSIDE THE SERIES-
    vs. Cleveland State: IUPUI is 0-3 all-time against Cleveland State. The two teams met last season in Bloomington, Ind., with the Jags falling 3-1. The only road game that IUPUI has played against the Vikings came in 2004 with the Jags also losing 3-1 in that match.
    vs. Youngstown State: IUPUI is 3-4 all-time against Youngstown State and won the last three meetings in the series. The last time the Jags played the Penguins was a 3-0 win on Sept. 12, 2015 in Normal, Ill. IUPUI is 1-2 in Youngstown winning the last road matchup, 3-0 in 2000.

UP NEXT: IUPUI will be back in the Jungle for a three-game Horizon League homestand beginning with a match against Milwaukee on Friday (Oct. 6) at 6 p.m. The Jags will then play host to Green Bay on Saturday (Oct. 7) at 4 p.m. before finishing the homestand with a match against Oakland on Wednesday (Oct. 11) at 6 p.m.