Purdue Fort Wayne
South Dakota
Road Test Up Next for IPFW Women's Volleyball
9/20/2012 9:49:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- IPFW will face two Summit League opponents this weekend as the team travels to Vermillion, S.D. to face the Coyotes on Friday night, followed by a road match against UMKC on Sunday afternoon.
ABOUT IPFW
IPFW improved to 11-3 on Tuesday night by defeating the IUPUI Jaguars 3-1. Five Summit League schools, including IPFW now hold a 1-1 mark in league play as South Dakota State is the only school without a loss. Megan Steenhuysen had a big night against the Jaguars setting a new season-high in assists with 57, and a new career-high in service aces with four. Steenhuysen moved into fifth place all-time at IPFW in career assists. Fellow senior Tessa McGill stands in sixth place all-time in Summit League history with 1,883 career digs. She will pass Sara Silcox of Valparaiso this weekend to move into fifth place.
Other Mastodons making an impact against IUPUI included Haley Emenhiser and Kendall Wienkes. Emenhiser set a new season-high and tied her career-high with 13 kills against the Jaguars. Wienkes recorded her second double-double of the season with a 14 dig, 13 kill performance on Tuesday night.
SCOUTING THE COYOTES
South Dakota is 7-6 overall with a 1-1 mark in the Summit League. The Coyotes are playing at home for the first time this season after traveling for three tournaments in the early stages of the 2012 season. The Coyotes posted a 3-1 record at the Alabama State ISTAP Invite on opening weekend by recording wins over Tennessee State, Stetson, and Southeastern Louisiana. After dropping all three matches at the UND Classic, South Dakota bounced back to end the UCA Volleyball Tournament with another 3-1 mark by defeating Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Jacksonville State, and Jackson State.
South Dakota faced Western Illinois and IUPUI last weekend to open up their Summit League schedule. The Coyotes recorded a 3-1 win over Western Illinois, but was defeated 1-3 by IUPUI.
Kendall Kritenbrink and Amber Aschoff are the two main offense weapons for South Dakota. Kritenbrink earned Summit League Offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 17 for her high level of play. She is second on the team with 153 kills. Aschoff is the team leader in kills with 159.
Tori Kroll is responsible for setting up the South Dakota offense. Kroll is averaging just over 10 assists per set, leading the team in the assist category with 501. Defensively, Riley Haug and Kroll lead the team in digs while the duo of Lindsey Sathre and Natalie Walseth are the team leaders in the block category.
SCOUTING THE KANGAROOS
The Kangaroos enter the weekend with an overall record of 8-6 as they prepare for their home opener against Oakland on Friday night. UMKC got off to a 1-1 mark in Summit League play by losing to IUPUI on Sept. 14 (1-3) and defeating Western Illinois the following Saturday (3-2).
The Kangaroos kicked off the year by going 2-2 at the North Texas Invitational by picking up wins over Lamar and Prairie View A&M. A three-game winning streak would follow as the Roos earned wins over Bethune-Cookman, Florida Gulf Coast, and George Washington before falling to the host school Wyoming in the UniWyo Cowgirl Classic. The final tournament of the season for UMKC was played at Boiling Springs, N.C. The Kangaroos went 2-1 that weekend after being defeated by Kansas 3-0 in their first midweek contest of the year.
Emily Lucas is the main offensive threat for UMKC. The senior leads the club with 139 kills, an average of 2.84 per set. Ella Meier is another important part of the offense as she leads the team with 219 assists.
Defensively UMKC relies on Taryn Miller and Emily Lucas to come up with digs. The twosome of Emma Hagedorn and Sydney Crimmins provide the team with blocks.
ALL-TIME SERIES
IPFW is 2-0 against South Dakota in the all-time series. These two programs faced off for the first time a year ago as the 'Dons swept the series with a 3-0 home win, followed by a 3-1 victory in Vermillion.
The Mastodons hold a 7-3 edge over UMKC in the all-time series. This Summit League rivalry began in 2007 with IPFW winning the first five matches. The Kangaroos responded by stealing two wins at the Gates Sports Center, and they also came out on top in the most recent meeting 3-2.
NINE BLOCK NIGHT
Jessie Manwaring moved into a tie for fifth place all-time for most blocks in a single match by recording nine in a win against the Georgia Bulldogs on Sept. 8. It was a career night for the senior as she also recorded a career-high 18 kills while leading the team with 23 points.
CHASING RECORDS
Megan Steenhuysen moved up to fifth place all-time at IPFW with 3,837 career assists. She recently passed Kris Wilder ('87-'90) to take over the fifth spot. Steenhuysen is now closing in on Amy Luben (4,130) and Jill Lyon (4,268) who stand in fourth and third place.
CAN YOU DIG IT?
Tessa McGill is leading the team, Summit League, and is second in the NCAA in digs per set (6.20). She recently tied her season-high mark of 29 digs vs. IUPUI and has reached 20 digs or more in nine matches. McGill is currently second all-time at IPFW and sixth all-time in Summit League history with 1,883 career digs.
QUICK HITTERS
• Tessa McGill moved to sixth place all-time in Summit League history with 1,883 career digs, passing Lauren Duquette of Oakland (1,841). McGill move into fifth place this weekend. (1,887 - Sara Silcox, Valparaiso).
• Senior Jessie Manwaring has recorded a solo block in six straight matches.
• Megan Steenhuysen set a new career-high against IUPUI by recording four service aces.
• The dates of Sept. 21 and Sept. 23 have been good to IPFW as the 'Dons have won 12 matches on each day. IPFW has not lost a match on Sept. 21 since the 2002 season, and the streak goes back to 2001 for Sept. 23.
• The Michigan State Spartans are now ranked 25th in the nation. IPFW took the Spartans to five sets on Sept. 7.
• Megan Steenhuysen set a new season-high mark with 57 assists against IUPUI. She now ranks fifth all-time at IPFW with 3,837 career assists after recently passing Kris Wilder who ended her career with 3,806.
• Jessie Manwaring set new career-high totals in kills (18), blocks (9), and attack points (23) against the Georgia Bulldogs. Nine blocks in a single match moved her into a tie for fifth-place all-time at IPFW.
• Jen Milligan recorded a season high 21 digs at Oakland which is just under her career-high total of 23.
• Kendall Wienkes set new career-high totals in blocks with six, and in attack points with 25.5 last weekend.
• Emily Spencer leads the team with seven double-doubles. She earned her 28th career double-double last weekend in the Summit League opener at Oakland.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
