Purdue Fort Wayne
Toledo
IPFW Steps Away from Summit League to Battle Toledo
10/15/2012 2:46:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
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FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- The IPFW women's volleyball team will take a break from Summit League competition to face the Toledo Rockets on Tuesday, Oct. 16. The match between the Mastodons and the Rockets will begin at 6 p.m.
ABOUT IPFW
IPFW fell to Oakland on Friday night, but the Mastodons still hold a slim lead in the Summit League standings with a record of 7-2. IUPUI and Kansas City are close behind at 7-3, and a trio of teams are jammed in the middle of the standings with a 5-4 record.
The Mastodons will face Toledo on Tuesday night and then host two Summit League opponents this weekend at the Gates Sports Center.
SCOUTING THE ROCKETS
The Toledo Rockets enter Tuesday night's match with an overall record of 8-12. They are 2-6 in the Mid-American Conference and 4-4 when playing at home. The Rockets recently broke a five-match losing streak with a 3-0 win over Kent State on Oct. 13. Their other conference win came against Buffalo on Sept. 22.
Toledo faced two ranked opponents at the Sports Imports DC Koehl Classic hosted by Ohio State. They opened the year with a 3-2 win over Houston, but were swept by #20 Oregon and #24 Ohio State. The Rockets picked up wins over Eastern Illinois, Memphis, Florida Gulf Coast, Appalachian State, and Campbell before the start of the conference season.
Lauren Rafdal leads the team in kills with 201. She is averaging three kills per set, and posts a percentage of .208. Setting up the offense for Toledo will be Adria Pryor. Pryor is averaging just over 10 assists per set and has 706 on the year. The defensive charge is led by McCall Paynter and Dakota Harkins. Paynter leads the team with 279 digs, while Harkins serves as the team leader in blocks with 80.
ALL-TIME SERIES
IPFW leads the all-time series over Toledo 5-2. The Rockets won two of the first three matches in the series, yet the Mastodons hold the upper hand as they have won the last four straight. IPFW squeaked out a win the last time these two programs faced each other in Toledo, coming back for a 3-2 victory (25-30, 30-19, 24-30, 30-27, 15-11).
The first match between IPFW and Toledo was played in 1982 as the Rockets took a 2-0 win (15-12, 15-7). The most recent match was played in 2006 as the 'Dons came out on top 3-0 (30-23, 30-22, 30-23).
SUMMIT LEAGUE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The Summit League office announced that Megan Steenhuysen was named Offensive Player of the Week for her performances Oct. 8-14.
Steenhuysen collects her fifth career Offensive Player of the Week award and her second of the season after averaging 13.12 assists per set for the week. The senior setter posted back-to-back matches of 50-plus assists. She opened the week with 55 assists in a four-set win over Western Illinois and tallied 50 against Oakland.
On the week, Steenhuysen recorded 105 assists, averaging 13.12 per set, 21 digs (2.62 per set), five kills, three service aces and one block. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native leads the league in assists, averaging 12.17 per set on the season.
2,000 CAREER DIGS
Tessa McGill recorded 24 digs against Western Illinois on Oct. 8 giving her 2,014 in her IPFW career. McGill is only the second women's volleyball player in IPFW history to reach 2,000 career digs.
SUMMIT LEAGUE LEADER
Megan Steenhuysen leads the Summit League in assists per set with an average of 12.06. She has led the team in assists during every match this season which has her ranked sixth in the NCAA in assists per set. Steenhuysen's season-high assist total of 65 was set in a five set win over North Dakota State.
SUPER SOPHOMORE
Emily Spencer picked up where she left off a year ago as one of the top offensive weapons on the IPFW roster. Spencer is leading the team in kills (314), points (359.0) and in points per set (4.67). She recorded a season-high 21 kills against Ball State on Aug. 28 and tied that mark with 21 against North Dakota State. Spencer is leading the team with 12 double-doubles on the year. She recorded a double-double in every match at the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational and most recently vs. Oakland with 14 kills and 18 digs.
QUICK HITTERS
• Megan Steenhuysen has been named Summit League Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 8-14).
• IPFW had three players record a double-double against Oakland on Friday night (Spencer, Steenhuysen, Wienkes).
• Tessa McGill became only the second player in IPFW history to reach 2,000 career digs.
• IPFW and Toledo have faced common opponents in Kent State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Ball State, and Oakland.
• Toledo returned five starters from last year's team that posted an overall record of 10-18.
• Tessa McGill is climbing up the single-season record book in the digs category. Her 469 digs this season places her in a tie for seventh place along with Joni Smith (1987). McGill holds second place (653 - 2011), and fourth place (615 - 2010) on the list.
• Toledo is the final out of league opponent that IPFW will face this season.
• IPFW ends the season playing four of their final five games on the road.
• Megan Steenhuysen is now fourth all-time at IPFW with 4,188 career assists. She recently passed Amy Luben (4,130).
• IPFW leads the Summit League in assists per set, kills per set, hitting percentage, and winning percentage.
• The Mastodons rank 56th overall in the latest NCAA Women's Volleyball RPI Rankings (Oct. 8).
• Tessa McGill is fifth in the nation in digs per set (6.01) and Megan Steenhuysen is sixth in assists per set (12.06).
• Emily Spencer leads the team with 12 double-doubles in 2012. She recently recorded her 33rd career double-double against Oakland with 18 digs and 14 kills.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
