Women’s Volleyball Visits Omaha for Summit League Action

Match Notes I Live Stats I Live Video

FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- The IPFW women's volleyball team will be on the road this weekend with an away match against the Omaha Mavericks on Oct. 5. Game time is scheduled for 8 p.m. in the Sapp Fieldhouse.

ABOUT IPFW
IPFW moved to the top of the Summit League standings after recording two big wins at the Gates Sports Center last weekend. The 'Dons swept South Dakota State 3-0 on Friday and then came back to take a 3-2 win over North Dakota State on Saturday night.

The Mastodons are now 15-3 overall with a 5-1 mark in league play. They have now won six matches in a row, including eight of their last 10. The senior duo of Tessa McGill and Megan Steenhuysen played exceptionally well as McGill grabbed Summit League Defensive Player of the Week honors for the seventh time of her career and second time this season. Steenhuysen was the first setter to earn Offensive Player of the Week honors after recording a season-high 65 assists against the Bison.

Jessie Manwaring and Emily Spencer also impacted the game at a high level. Spencer recorded her 10^th double-double of the season and the 31^st of her career with 21 kills and 15 digs against NDSU. Manwaring was a thorn in the side of North Dakota State as she recorded a career-high four solo blocks against the Bison. Manwaring has now recorded a solo block in 10-straight contests.

IPFW is currently ranked 55^th overall in the latest NCAA Women's Volleyball RPI Rankings. They lead the Summit League in assists per set, kills per set, hitting percentage, and winning percentage.

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
The Omaha Mavericks are 6-11 overall with a 1-4 mark in Summit League action, placing them at the bottom of the league standings. The Mavs were most recently defeated at IUPUI 3-0, but they did record their first league win on the road trip with a 3-2 victory over Western Illinois. Omaha has a better record on the road and on neutral courts than at the Sapp Fieldhouse as their lone home win of the year came against Syracuse on Sept. 4.

Rose Shires is now in her 23rd year as the head coach of the women's volleyball program. The UTEP graduate has a career record of 435-278 at Omaha. The Mavericks only returned one starter from last year's team as the roster filled out with a handful of newcomers and four redshirt players.

The top returner for Omaha is Natalie Ebke, an outside hitter from Lincoln, Neb. The senior has played in all 62 sets for the Mavericks and is leading the team in kills with 166. Other student-athletes impacting the 2012 season include Amy Roberts, the team's dig leader and Bailey Baxter, the team's top assist leader. Roberts has 234 digs on the year, giving her an average of 3.84 per set. Baxter is an all-around player that has 433 assists, 17 service aces, 29 kills, 133 digs, and nine blocks.

ALL-TIME SERIES
There is no all-time series between IPFW and Omaha because the two programs have never faced off in a women's volleyball match.

SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Megan Steenhuysen and Tessa McGill were recognized by the Summit League for their outstanding performances last week as Steenhuysen earned Offensive Player of the Week honors and McGill was awarded with Defensive Player of the Week accolades.

Steenhuysen earns her fourth career Offensive Player of the Week honor and her first of the 2012 season. She shares the weekly award with Megan Lambertson of North Dakota State. The senior guided IPFW to a 2-0 record during the week of Sept. 24-30, defeating South Dakota State 3-0 on Friday and North Dakota State 3-2 on Saturday. Steenhuysen is the first setter two win Offensive Player of the Week honors this season.

Steenhuysen recorded 46 assists in the sweep over South Dakota State and came back to set a season-high total of 65 assists against the Bison. For the week, Steenhuysen tallied 111 assists, posting an average of 13.88 assists per set. She also chipped in with 30 digs, four blocks, two kills, and two service aces.

The standout senior has led IPFW in assists during every match this season. She has 786 assists on the year, and her total of 65 against NDSU put her in a three-way tie for 11th all-time at IPFW for assists in a single match. Steenhuysen currently ranks fifth all-time at IPFW with 4,025 career assists.

Tessa McGill is now tied for second all-time in Summit League history by claiming her seventh career Defensive Player of the Week honor. McGill led the defensive charge for IPFW last weekend by recording 20 digs against South Dakota State and 29 against North Dakota State. The honor is McGill's second award of the season.

McGill averaged 6.12 digs per set over the weekend while adding seven assists, three service aces, and two kills. She and Steenhuysen each lead the Summit League in their respective categories.

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 (264), points (303.5) and in points per set (4.74). She recorded a season-high 21 kills against Ball State on Aug. 28 and recently tied that mark with 21 against North Dakota State. Spencer is leading the team with 10 double-doubles on the year. She recorded a double-double in every match at the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational and most recently vs. North Dakota State with 21 kills and 15 digs.

QUICK HITTERS
• The Mastodons are on a six-game winning streak. They posted a record of 11-2 during the month of September.

• Megan Steenhuysen was named Summit League Offensive Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 24 - Oct. 1.

• Tessa McGill was named Summit League Defensive Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 24 - Oct. 1

• Jessie Manwaring has a solo block in ten-straight matches. She set a new career-high with four solo blocks against NDSU.

• The Mastodons rank 55th overall in the latest NCAA Women's Volleyball RPI Rankings.

• Tessa McGill is fourth in the nation in digs per set (6.03) and Megan Steenhuysen is sixth in assists per set (12.09).

• Tonight's contest marks the first time these two programs have faced off in a women's volleyball match.

• Sarah Heckman came off the bench to record a career-high nine kills against North Dakota State on Sept. 29.

• IPFW leads the Summit League in assists per set, kills per set, hitting percentage, and winning percentage.

• Emily Spencer leads the team with 10 double-doubles in 2012. She recently recorded her 31th career double-double in a win over North Dakota State with 21 kills and 15 digs.

• Tessa McGill moved to fifth place all-time in Summit League history with 1,961 career digs, passing Sara Silcox of Valparaiso (1,887). McGill is now chasing fourth place which is held by Erin Jones of IUPUI (2,067).

• Megan Steenhuysen led IPFW to victory over NDSU by recording a season-high 65 assists and 19 digs against the Bison. Steenhuysen has now moved into fifth all-time at IPFW with 4,025 career assists.

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics

Women’s Volleyball Visits Omaha for Summit League Action

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