KALAMAZZO, Mich. – IUPUI volleyball will play its final non-conference tournament of the season and will face off against some of its toughest competition this year. The Jaguars will begin the tournament against host Western Michigan and will then take on Michigan State and Auburn.
The first match of the Delta Hotel By Marriott Kalamazoo Conference Center Tournament will pit IUPUI against the Broncos at Noon on Friday (Sept. 20). The Jags will close out play on Friday with a match against Michigan State at 5 p.m. IUPUI's final non-conference match will be against Auburn at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Sept. 21).
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
IUPUI at Western Michigan // Fri. Sept. 20 // 12 PM //
Live Stats
IUPUI vs Michigan State // Fri. Sept. 20 // 5 PM //
Live Stats
IUPUI vs Auburn // Sat. Sept. 21 // 1 PM //
Live Stats
JAG SCRATCHES
- IUPUI is coming off of a 0-3 loss at Indiana State as the Jaguars had their worst offensive performance in over 10 years. The Jags hit -.044 as a team, the lowest hitting percentage since hitting -.101 against Northwestern in 2009.
- Against the Sycamores, Hannah Oehlberg led the team with 12 kills and added 15 digs for a double-double. Oehlberg has finished with double-digit kills in each of her last four matches and double-digit digs in three of her last four.
- Sophomore Rachel Hickey led the defense with 23 digs. Since playing libero for the Jags, Hickey has recorded double-digit digs in every match, her last seven.
- The Jaguars have been out-blocked in each of their last three matches. Coincidentally, senior Haley Hoffman has not played in the last two matches and only in the first set against Alabama State.
- Freshman Corrissa Remter had a career weekend in Southern Illinois, tallying her first-two double-digit kill matches including a career-high 14 kills against Memphis (Sept. 14). Remter also tallied a career-best eight blocks against Southern Illinois (Sept. 13).
INSIDE THE SERIES
vs Western Michigan – IUPUI has not won a match against Western Michigan in four tries. The last meeting between the Jaguars and the Broncos was last season in Indianapolis with Western Michigan coming away with a 3-1 win.
vs Michigan State – IUPUI is 0-2 against the Spartans but the teams have not met since 2015. Both meetings against Michigan State have been 3-0 wins for MSU.
vs Auburn – This will be the first meeting between IUPUI and Auburn.
SCOUTING REPORT
Western Michigan – The Broncos come in to the match at 8-1 but lost their last match in straight sets to Milwaukee. Western Michigan earlier this season beat fellow Horizon League opponent Northern Kentucky in five sets.
The offense has been strong this year for Western Michigan with the Broncos hitting .242 as a team. Rachel Bontrager has been on a roll this year averaging 3.37 kills per set while hitting .314. Maggie King is averaging 3.08 kills per set.
On defense, Western Michigan is averaging 1.62 blocks per set and over 15 digs per set. Janell Williams is the leader at the net with 0.97 blocks per set.
Michigan State – Michigan State is 6-1 on the season and riding a two-game winning streak. The Spartans' six wins have all come in four sets or less and Michigan State beat Oakland earlier this year in straight sets.
The Spartans are hitting .270 as a team and allowing opponents to hit just .143. Meredith Norris is averaging 3.60 kills per set and Alyssa Chronowski is second on the team at 2.58 kills per set. Michigan State is averaging 2.96 blocks per set with Rebecka Poljan (1.32/set) and Nay Gros (1.28/set) both over 1.00 blocks per set.
Auburn – Auburn is 4-4 on the season, falling in its last match in five sets to TCU. Before the loss to the Horned Frogs, Auburn had won three-straight matches.
The Tigers' offense is off to a slower start this season as the team is hitting just .171 through the early part of the year. Enija Bidzane is leading the team with 3.03 kills per set but is hitting .212 on the year.
On defense, Jaedan Brown leads the squad with 1.00 blocks per set and Payton White is leading the backline defense with 4.09 digs per set.
UP NEXT
IUPUI will begin Horizon League play at home on Friday, Sept. 27 with a match against Cleveland State.
