MACOMB, Ill. -  Western Illinois volleyball continues road action at IUPUI this Saturday (Nov. 3). The Fighting Leathernecks (10-14, 4-9) and Jaguars (18-9, 10-3) are slated to begin action at 4 p.m.

THE BREAKDOWN

THE MATCHUPS

Who: Western Illinois (10-14, 4-9) at IUPUI (18-9, 10-3)
Where: Indianapolis, Ind. • The Jungle (1,215)
When: 4 p.m. CT
Series History: IUPUI leads 21-9
Last Meeting: Oct. 6, 2012, IUPUI defeated Western, 3-0

FOLLOW THE ACTION

Live Video:
IUPUI Live (Fee Required)

Live Stats:
IUPUIJags.com

MORE LEATHERNECK VOLLEYBALL INFO:

Twitter:
@WIUAthletics
@WIUVolleyball

Leatherneck Volleyball Info:
2012 Quick Facts
2012 Information Guide

LAST TIME OUT: The Fighting Leathernecks journeyed to Nebraska Saturday (Oct. 27) and came away with a 3-1 match victory, their fourth Summit League of the year which tops Western Illinois' league win total from a season ago.

Western (10-14, 4-9) dropped the opening set 28-26, but rattled off three straight set victories over the Mavericks (6-18, 1-11) by scores of 26-24, 25-20 and 25-17.

"UNO is a great team who stole a victory from us at home," said head coach April Hall after the match. "I'm so proud of the team tonight. We came out a little slow but bounced back and took control of sets 2, 3 and 4. We had four offensive standout performances tonight by Sam (Fournier), Ann (Miller), Heather (Smith) and Katie (Hosteng), all earning double digit kills. They hit the ball with conviction tonight, and a determination unmatched by UNO's persistent defensive efforts. Sarah (Fetter) did an amazing job distributing the ball which allowed our offense to take advantage of one on one opportunities."

"I'd be doing our defense a disservice if I didn't commend them for their relentless pursuit of the ball tonight, continued Hall. "We totaled 90 digs on the match, and again had four athletes in double digits, led by Bridget (Murphy) and Ann (Miller). Our defense took many strides this week at practice and it showed during tonight's match."

"I'm so proud of these girls and am looking forward to getting back in the gym to prepare for IUPUI," finished coach Hall.

--- To view the complete release, click HERE.

A LOOK AT THE JAGUARS: IUPUI enters Saturday's match second in The Summit League standings with a 10-3 league mark, and a 18-9 overall record...The Jaguars are coached by Steve Payne (Northern Illinois '87) who is in his 16th season at the helm, and owns a 186-267 record while at IUPUI...In their last action, the Jaguars defeated non-conference opponent, Eastern Illinois, 3-1...Moriah Fair and Kelsey Hoefer lead IUPUI in kills with 314 (3.24 per set) and 286 (2.92 per set), respectively, this season...Ellyn Jones and Alexis Meeks lead the Jaguars in assists with 559 (5.65 per set) and 557 (6.48 per set), respectively...Beth Howard has a team-best 496 (4.96 per set) digs on the year...Bethany Fogler leads the team in total blocks with 130 (1.30 per set).

AT THE HELM: April Hall was named head volleyball coach on February 20, 2012, becoming the ninth head coach in the Western Illinois volleyball program's history. Hall spent last year as an assistant coach at Northern Kentucky University while the Norse were in the transition from NCAA Division II to Division I. NKU went 26-6 last year and advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.

IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE (As of 10/31/2012): The Leathernecks rank in the top-five of three Summit League team categories: fourth in kills per set (13.04) and assists per set (12.49), fifth in hitting percentage (.208)...Several Leathernecks rank in the top-10 of several individual categories: Samantha Fournier ranks fifth in kills (343) and kills per set (3.65), sixth in points per set (4.1), and seventh in points (388.5)...Katie Hosteng ranks fifth in hitting percentage (.315), and 10th in points per set (3.5)...Sarah Fetter ranks second in assists (1,020) and assists per set (10.85)...Bridget Murphy ranks fifth in digs per set (4.96) and sixth in digs (451)...Ann Miller ranks seventh in kills per set (3.26).

IN THE NATION (As of 10/25/2012): Where the Leathernecks rank nationally as a team: 84th in assists per set (12.49)...118th in kills per set (13.04)...124th in digs per set (15.56)...134th in hitting percentage (.208)...211th in winning percentage (.417)...266th in blocks per set (1.67)...266th in aces per set (1.01)...Where Leathernecks rank individually in the nation: Sarah Fetter ranks 45th in assists per set (10.85)...Bridget Murphy ranks 63rd in digs per set (4.96)...Samantha Fournier ranks 100th in kills per set (3.65) and 110th in points per set (4.13)...Katie Hosteng ranks 139th in hitting percentage (.315)...Ann Miller ranks 194th in kills per set (3.26).

TOP 10!: Senior Katie Hosteng has been consistent for the Leathernecks throughout her career, averaging 214 kills per season over her first three years at Western...She has 269 this season, the most she has ever tallied in a single-season, and 910 career kills...Her 910 career kills ranks 10th all-time in program history.

JUST KEEP DIGGING: Senior defensive specialist Bridget Murphy finished last season with 580 digs, the fourth-best single-season total in Western's program history, and 5.98 digs per set, which is the second-best single-season performance in Western's record books...She has 451 digs this season (4.96 per set), and 1,701 over her four-year career...Her 1,701 career digs rank second in program history behind only Jennifer Alexander who finished her career at Western with 2,343.

DISHING OUT ASSISTS: Junior setter Sarah Fetter set a new career-high in assists against South Dakota State at home this season (Oct. 19), dishing out 64 in the team's 3-1 loss...Throughout her career, she has had five total 50-plus assist matches...Besides her 64-assists evening against SDSU, Fetter has tallied 50 or more assists twice in 2012...First in Western's season-opener versus Montana on August 25th (50 assists), and the other coming in the Leathernecks' 3-2 home loss to Omaha this season on September 28th (56 assists)...Fetter owns 1,995 career assists in only her second season at Western, which ranks seventh in program history...She is 136 assists behind Amy Nesemeier (2,131 career assists) who sits sixth on the all-time list.

BLOCK PARTY: Western Illinois has finished five matches this season with 10-plus blocks, first on September 14th against South Dakota (12 blocks), the second came on September 17th at Oakland (13 blocks), the third came when the Leathernecks had 11 at Fort Wayne, the fourth versus SDSU at home (12), and the most recent against NDSU in Macomb (10)...The 13 blocks against Oakland was the most since September 30th of last year when they had 15 at Kansas City.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Defensive Specialist Bridget Murphy was named The Summit League's 'Defensive Player of the Week' for her performance September 17-23. Fort Wayne's Emily Spencer earned the league's 'Offensive Player of the Week'...The senior captain finished the week with 82 digs, averaging 6.07 digs per set, while dishing out 16 assists and aces five serves...Murphy collects her third career Defensive Player of the Week honor and first of the season. It also marks the first of any Leatherneck volleyball player this season.

INVITATIONAL MVP: Sophomore Samantha Fournier was tabbed the Drury Inn Jessica Barkman Memorial Classic's 'Most Valuable Player' after helping guide the Leathernecks to a tournament title...She finished the invite with a tournament-best 51 kills, putting down a career-high 21 kills in two of Western's matches...Fournier finished with a .280 hitting percentage, and tallied 37 digs, six blocks, three assists and three service aces.

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: After being tabbed 'Tournament MVP', Fournier also earned the weekly Western Illinois 'Scholar-Athlete of the Week' award (Sept. 3)...The Coal Valley, Ill. native holds a cumulative grade point average of 3.367 and is undecided on a major.

ANOTHER SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Ann Miller became the second Leatherneck volleyball player of 2012 to earn the Papa John's Scholar-Athlete of the Week award for her accomplishments on the court and in the classroom (Sept. 24)...The Bettendorf, Iowa native has 118 kills (3.28 per set) on the year and owns a 3.964 grade point average while majoring in University Advising.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Senior middle blocker Katie Hosteng is the only Leatherneck to have been named to all three all-tournament teams this season, first earning the honors in the SIU-Edwardsville Cougar Classic after finishing the invite with 31 kills (2.58 per set) and a .297 hitting percentage...She was then named to the all-tournament team after the Drury Inn Jessica Barkman Memorial Classic where she tallied 41 kills and a team-best .286 hitting percentage...Lastly, Hosteng earned all-tournament honors after putting down 33 kills (3.30 per set) with a .365 hitting percentage, 10 blocks, nine digs and three service aces.

THE SCHEDULE: Western’s 2012 schedule breakdown: three preseason invitationals, 16 Summit League matches, 11 non-conference contests, and nine total matches at home with the first three home matches being played inside Western Hall, and the other six at Brophy Hall.

CLASS BREAKDOWN: The Leathernecks return nine members from last year's team led by seniors Bridget Murphy and Katie Hosteng...They have two juniors that returned to the squad in Sarah Fetter and Heather Smith...A sophomore class of five return to Western in Ann Miller, Molly Murphy, Bailey Kaloupek, Mallory Gibson and Samantha Fournier...The Leathernecks enter the 2012 season with three newcomers, all freshmen, in twin sisters Leighanne Novak and Kaitlynn Novak, and Jordan Jackson.

WHAT'S NEXT?: The Leathernecks conclude their road swing at Chicago State Tuesday, November 6th.

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