KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan volleyball hits the road for the second time this season, competing at the IUPUI Hampton Invitational this weekend. The invitational will consist of three games against IUPUI, Northern Arizona and SIU-Edwardsville.  

IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational | The Jungle (1,215) | Indianapolis, Ind.
Friday, Aug. 31: Western Michigan at IUPUI | 6:30 p.m. | LIVE STATS
Saturday, Sept. 1: Northern Arizona vs. Western Michigan | 10:00 a.m. | LIVE STATS
Saturday, Sept. 1: SIU-Edwardsville vs. Western Michigan | 4:30 p.m. | LIVE STATS

Scouting the Broncos
Western Michigan has won back-to-back matches and heads to the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational with an overall record of 2-2. Through four matches the Broncos rank sixth in the Mid-American Conference in attack percentage (.201), fifth in kills (12.43) and third in blocks (2.43).

Last Time Out
In the home opener on Tuesday the Broncos defeated Chicago State in three sets (25-21, 26-24, 25-16). WMU has now won four straight home openers and has a 12-2 record in the first home match of the season since 2005.

Welcome to the Block Party
At the net the Brown & Gold have been one of the premier teams in the MAC this season ranking third in the conference with 2.43 blocks per set. Sophomore Jordan White leads the MAC with 1.33 blocks per set.  

Murphy Rising Up the Record Books
With 120 assists in four matches, senior Mary Murphy now ranks fourth all-time at WMU in career assists with 3,511.

Bontrager Leading the Way
Sophomore Rachel Bontrager has led the Broncos in kills in every match this season and ranks second in the MAC with 4.21 kills per set. Her 59 total kills rank second in the conference and 18th in the NCAA.  

Scouting the Competition
IUPUI – As the host school the Jaguars head into the weekend with an overall record of 1-3 and are coming off a sweep on Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday. Last weekend at the Louisville Cardinal Classic, IUPUI fell to Southern Illinois, UT-Martin and Louisville. The Jaguars are led by Maggie Gibson with 41 kills, averaging 2.93 kills per set.

Northern Arizona – NAU comes to the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational with an overall record of 3-1. After dropping their first match of the season at the Aggie Invitational versus Nevada, the Lumberjacks have won three straight over Utah Valley, Holy Cross and UC Davis. NAU is hitting .240 as a team with Kaylie Jorgenson leading the way with 56 kills.

SIU-Edwardsville – SIUE has an overall record of 0-3 after falling to Green Bay, UAB and TCU last weekend at the LaQuinta Cowtown Classic in Fort Worth, Texas. Overall the Cougars are averaging 9.00 kills, 8.91 assists, 1.64 blocks and 1.27 service aces per set.

MAC Volleyball on ESPN
As part of the Mid-American Conference broadcast rights owned by ESPN, several MAC athletic events will now be stream on ESPN . ESPN is an internet-stream only platform (separate from ESPN3) and is not included in cable subscription packages. ESPN accounts are ordered through the ESPN app and cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year.