Purdue Fort Wayne
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Kent State vs. Cleveland State
Don's to Host Opening Weekend Tournament
8/23/2012 1:29:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Tournament Schedule - Friday August 24
Kent State vs. Cleveland State - 5 PM
Murray State at IPFW - 7 PM
Tournament Schedule - Friday August 24
Kent State vs. Murray State - 11 AM
Cleveland State at IPFW - 1 PM
Cleveland State vs. Murray State - 5 PM
Kent State at IPFW - 7 PM
FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- The 2012 women's volleyball season takes off this weekend as the IPFW Mastodons host the Hyatt Place Fort Wayne / IPFW Invitational. The 'Dons will face Murray State on Friday night at the conclusion of the match between Kent State and Cleveland State.
ABOUT IPFW
The Mastodons have senior leadership in four core areas. Megan Steenhuysen, Tessa McGill, Jessie Manwaring, and Haley Emenhiser all play different positions, and all will impact the team in 2012. IPFW has one experienced junior on the team, as a large mix of sophomores and freshmen fill out the roster.
Steenhuysen, the 2010 Summit League Setter of the Year, returns after leading the team in assists for third straight season. The Grand Rapids native was a Second Team All-League selection in 2011 after starting in every match for the Mastodons.
McGill has been a standout volleyball player at IPFW since she first stepped on the court as a freshman during the 2009 season. She enters her senior season having never missed a set as a Mastodon. McGill led the team for the second straight season with 653 digs. She is now fourth all-time at IPFW with 1,569 career digs. She was named Second Team All-League, earning Summit League Defensive Player of the Week honors on two separate occasions.
IPFW finished the 2011 season with a semifinal loss to Oral Roberts in the Summit League Tournament. The 'Dons return plenty of weapons and were recently selected to finish second the Summit League preseason poll.
ABOUT MURRAY STATE
The Murray State Racers will look to improve on the 8-23 overall record that the team posted during the 2011 season. The team returns four seniors, including Lia Havili and Wendi Zickfield.
Havili led the team with 1,007 assists a year ago, and also chipped in with 15 service aces and 268 digs. Zickfield also impacted the team with 259 kills on the year posting an attack percentage of .188. She was second on the team in blocks with 56 and in digs with 286.
ABOUT CLEVELAND STATE
The Cleveland State Vikings were selected to finish second in the Horizon League preseason poll for the third straight season. Senior outside hitter Kara Koch earned recognition from her peers by being selected as the Horizon League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.
Koch is a big-time player who guided the Vikings to an overall record of 21-8 in 2011. She posted a team-high 428 kills during her junior campaign, ranking second in the league averaging 4.20 kills per set. Throughout the season Koch reached a double-digit kill total in 21 matches.
Cleveland State finished second in the Horizon League standings last season with a record of 13-3. The Vikings will be shooting for their fourth straight 20-2in season during 2012, and their fifth under head coach Chuck Voss.
ABOUT KENT STATE
The Kent State volleyball program is heading in a new direction as first year head coach Don Gromala takes over for the Golden Flashes. KSU recorded an overall record of 12-19 a year ago, including a 5-11 mark in Mid-American Conference play.
Lauren Engleman returns to the program as one of the team's best outside hitters, and the top defensive specialist for Kent State is Hanna Herk. Engleman is entering her sophomore season at KSU while Herk is one of just two juniors on the squad. The Golden Flashes only have one senior on the 2012 roster as a majority of the team composed of sophomores and freshmen.
Kent State was competitive in the East Division of the MAC standings in 2011 finishing fourth, just one win behind Bowling Green, and two spots back from Miami (Ohio). KSU ended last season on a high note winning four of their last five contests.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
The Mastodons were selected to finish second in the 2012 Summit League preseason poll. The poll was voted on by the league's nine head coaches. IPFW and the preseason favorite North Dakota State Bison split all nine first-place votes. The Bison collected six first-place votes giving them 62 total points, placing them atop the poll. IPFW was just behind North Dakota State with 58 points, including three first-place votes.
Oakland and South Dakota State tied for third receiving 43 points each while IUPUI was close behind in fifth with 38 points. South Dakota (33) and Kansas City (23) placed sixth and seventh respectively while Western Illinois (13) and Omaha (11) rounded out the poll.
CHASING RECORDS
Tessa McGill is currently fourth all-time with 1,569 digs entering her senior season. McGill will have a great chance of passing Julie Parrot (3rd - 1,583) and Laura Douglas (2nd - 1,625), but it will take a spectacular campaign to reach Peachy Jankowski who holds the record with 2,253.
Megan Steenhuysen is another Mastodon who will attempt to climb the record book. Steenhuysen ranks seventh all-time with 3,239 career assists. She is closing in on Jessica Dominiak (6th - 3,326) and Kris Wilder (5th - 3,806).
ALL-TIME SERIESIPFW holds a 2-0 advantage over Murray State in the all-time series. The 'Dons defeated the Racers 3-0 in 2005 during the first meeting. The latest clash between the two programs came in 2008, with IPFW claiming another 3-0 win over the Racers.
The Mastodons are 2-0 all-time against the Cleveland State Vikings. IPFW was victorious in the first-ever meeting 3-1. They stayed undefeated against CSU with a 3-1 win over the Vikings in 2011.
The all-time series between IPFW and Kent State is knotted at 2-2. IPFW lost the first two matches (2-3, 1-3) but have responded by winning the last two (3-1, 3-0). The first contest was played in 2001, while the latest came just a season ago in 2011.
