Purdue Fort Wayne
Eastern Michigan
Mastodons Hit the Road for UIC Invitational
8/30/2012 9:47:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Tournament Schedule - Friday, August 31
IPFW vs. Eastern Michigan - 6 PM
UT Arlington at UIC - 8 PM
Tournament Schedule - Saturday, September 1
Eastern Michigan vs. UT Arlington - 11 AM
IPFW at UIC - 1 PM
UT Arlington vs. IPFW - 6 PM
Eastern Michigan at UIC - 8 PM
FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- The IPFW women's volleyball team will play away from the Gates Sports Center for the first time this season as the 'Dons take part in the 2012 UIC Invitational.
ABOUT IPFW
The Mastodons are off to a 3-1 start early in the 2012 season after defeating Ball State on Tuesday night (3-1). It was the first time IPFW had knocked off the Cardinals since 2007. Hailie Ripley set career-high totals in kills (11), blocks (7), and points (14.5) against Ball State.
Tessa McGill has been a huge factor in each match for IPFW this season. McGill has already been named to an All-Tournament Team and she was recognized as the Summit League Defensive Player of the Week for her high level of play in the Hyatt Place Fort Wayne / IPFW Invitational. McGill opened the year with a school record 28 digs in a three set match against Murray State.
Emily Spencer has been another bright spot on the IPFW roster. Last year's Summit League Freshman of the Year has not skipped a beat as she has led the team in kills in every match this season. Her season-high kill total of 21 came against the Ball State Cardinals.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Eastern Michigan enters the weekend with an overall record of 4-1. They opened the 2012 season by participating in the Memphis Invitational, posting a perfect record of 4-0. The Eagles defeated Arkansas-Little Rock in the season opener 3-1 and ended the day with another 3-1 win over Southern Illinois. Saturday showcased the Eagles sweeping both Austin Peay and Memphis.
The only loss of the season came on Tuesday as the Eagles lost a 3-2 decision to the Cleveland State Vikings. Cleveland State won the first two sets 25-22, 25-20, but the Eagles wouldn't quit taking sets three and four 25-19, 26-24. The deciding fifth set went to CSU, 15-11.
Rachel Iaquaniello leads the team with 79 kills through the first five games of the season giving her an average 4.16 kills per set. Kristen Baker is another threat to score as she is currently second on the team with 56 kills, holding the highest attack percentage of any Eastern Michigan player (.328).
Kim Hildreth is averaging just over 10 assists per set giving her a team-high 152 on the year and Sierra Reed is the team leader in digs with 94. The IPFW offense will have to find hitting lanes as the Eagles have three players with nine blocks or more. Leading the way for the team is Megan Crawshaw with 17.
SCOUTING THE FLAMESUIC is 2-1 early in the 2012 season after picking up a pair of wins in the Colgate Classic last weekend. The Flames dropped a five set match to Syracuse on Friday night, but rebounded well with wins over Colgate (25-20, 26-24, 25-21) and Bryant (25-10, 25-22, 25-22).
Aubrey Sniegowski is one of five Flames that has recorded 24 kills or more this season. She leads the team with 36, averaging 3.27 per set. Sniegowski hits for a high percentage (.377), but its Sara Sternard that has made the most of her opportunities this year posting a .478 attack percentage.
MaryKate Imrie is a double threat for UIC. Imrie is the team leader in assists with 107 and in service aces with six. Maggie Strus and Janise Dismuke lead the charge defensively for the flames. Strus has a team-high 52 digs on the year, while Dismuke is the team leader in blocks with 20.
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKSUT Arlington hosted the Hilton Invitational last weekend and scheduled a home match Tuesday night, just like IPFW, before heading to the UIC Invite. The Mavericks went 2-1 in tournament play recording wins over Savannah State (3-0) and UT Pan American (3-1), but they were defeated 3-0 by Stephen F. Austin. UT Arlington's overall record moved to 2-2 after being defeated by North Texas in a five set match on Tuesday, Aug. 28.
Shelby Dickson is a high impact player for the Mavericks. The junior, outside hitter is leading the team in kills with 56 and in digs with 58. Four additional players on the UT Arlington roster have recorded 20 or more kills.
Amanda Welsh is averaging 9.5 assists per set early in the 2012 season. She is the team leader in the assist category with 143. Other Mavericks contributing to the season include Ashley Bennett, the team leader in blocks with 14, and Hannah Baptiste who has 22 kills, four service aces, 13 digs and seven blocks.
ALL-TIME SERIESIPFW leads the all-time series over Eastern Michigan seven games to six. The Eagles held the upper hand in this series during the first five meetings, but IPFW has charged back by winning the last six consecutive matches. The first time these two programs faced off was back in 1979 with Eastern Michigan recording a 2-0 win. IPFW most recently defeated EMU 3-2 a year ago giving them the slight edge 7-6.
Saturday's contest between IPFW and UIC will be the third meeting of the all-time series as each team has one win against their opponent. These two teams have not faced each other since 2003 when the Mastodons recorded a 3-0 victory on a neutral court. The other match between IPFW and UIC was played in Chicago, and it was UIC who claimed the 3-0 victory.
The winner of Saturday's nightcap between IPFW and UT Arlington will hold the upperhand in the all-time series as these two teams have never faced each other.
QUICK HITTERS• The Mastodons will try to improve to 3-0 over Mid-American Conference teams when they face Eastern Michigan on Friday.
• The Eagles have not beat IPFW since the 2004 season, making IPFW winners of the last six consecutive matches.
• IPFW beat Ball State 3-1 on Tuesday night, giving the Mastodons their first win over the Cardinals since 2007.
• With 24 digs against Ball State, Tessa McGill is now seventh all-time in Summit League history with 1,661 career digs.
• The Masotdons have not started a season this well since 2005 when the team opened up with an eight-game winning streak which turned into an overall record of 24-6.
• Tessa McGill was named Summit League Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 27.
• Jessie Manwaring and Tessa McGill were named to the All-Tournament Team after guiding the Mastodons to a second place finish in the Hyatt Place Fort Wayne / IPFW Invitational last weekend.
• Tessa McGill set a school record for most digs in a three set match with 28 against the Murray State Racers.
• IPFW was picked to finish second in the 2012 Summit League preseason poll. They received three first-place votes.
• Four starters, plus the libero return to form the starting lineup at IPFW.
• Emily Spencer was the first women's volleyball player in program history to be named Summit League Freshman of the Year.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
