INDIANAPOLIS – IUPUI volleyball hits the road for its first Horizon League road trip of the season, traveling to Oakland on Friday (Sept. 28) and Youngstown State (Sept. 29).

The match at Oakland will begin at 6 p.m. and the Jags will take on the Penguins at 4 p.m. The match at Youngstown State will be streamed on ESPN+.

The Jaguars will be looking to break a four-match losing streak when they take on the Golden Grizzlies. Oakland was one of two teams to beat IUPUI in conference play last season, sweeping the Jags and the Golden Grizzlies have won four of the last five matches between the two teams.

IUPUI is led on offense by a returning Abby Boatman who missed the entire non-conference schedule. In the two matches Boatman has played this season, the senior is averaging 3.14 kills per set on a .474 hitting percentage. Boatman is also averaging 0.86 blocks per set and 1.14 digs per set.

After Boatman the rest of the Jaguar offense has gotten off to a slow start. Haley Hoffman is second on the team with a .206 hitting percentage but only averages 1.59 kills per set. Maggie Gibson is second on the team with 2.98 kills per set and is the only other IUPUI player hitting over .200 at a .202 clip. Senior Elizabeth Scott is third on the squad with 2.73 kills per set. Sophomore Rebecca Schlechte has taken over as the main setter, averaging 6.64 assists per game.

On defense, the Jaguars remain second in the NCAA in digs per set at 18.64. IUPUI is led by Rachel Hickey with 4.09 per set and Rhiannon Schuenemann (3.62) and Gibson (3.23) are also above 3.00 digs/set. Three other Jaguars average above 2.00 digs/set led by Schlechte with 2.78.

OAKLAND – (5-8, 1-1 Horizon)
Last season against IUPUI – 2-0
All-time against IUPUI – 10-15

Oakland enters the second weekend of conference play having split its first weekend with a win against Youngstown State and a loss to Cleveland State. The Golden Grizzlies have struggled on offense this season, hitting just .154 as a team and only Jamie Walling is hitting over .200 at a .282 clip. Walling is second on the team with 2.69 kills per set, just behind Aleksandra Malek at 2.71 kills per set.

On defense, Oakland is averaging just 15.39 digs per set, led by 4.86 per set from Lindsay Wightman. The Golden Grizzlies are averaging 2.19 blocks per set with Walling at 1.02 per set and Krysteena Davis with 1.00 block per set but in the two matches of conference play, Oakland is last in the Horizon League with 1.58 per set.

YOUNGSTOWN STATE – (6-9, 0-2 Horizon)
Last season against IUPUI – 0-2
All-time against IUPUI – 4-5

Youngstown State began its conference season being swept by Cleveland State and Oakland. The Penguins will play Wright State on Friday before hosting the Jags.

Youngstown State's offense is the worst in the league through two games, hitting just .118 in the two matches. Overall, the Penguins are hitting just .152 as a team. Margaux Thompson leads the team with 3.16 kills per set, followed by Aleah Hughes at 3.02 per set but both players are hitting under .200 on the year.

Defensively, the Penguins have four players with more than three digs per set led by Hughes at 3.91 per set. Reis Zandier is second on the team with 3.79 and Thompson is third with 3.68. Sarah Varcolla leads the team with 0.91 blocks per set for a team that averages just 1.72 per set.