NOTEBOOK (PDF)
Conference play is now in full swing following this past weekend's slate of matches. Illinois State, UNI and Loyola pace the conference race after the first full weekend of play with unbeaten marks. Illinois State swept Missouri State and Southern Illinois over the weekend, while UNI beat Evansville and Indiana State. Loyola earned a sweep of Valpo in its only action over the weekend.
The league schedule has a quick turnaround this week with four Monday matches on the schedule.
Hot Starts
For the second-straight year, Illinois State opened conference play with a pair of sweeps against Missouri State and Southern Illinois. ISU’s three-set win over the Bears marked the third-consecutive sweep of MSU, while the Redbirds have swept the Salukis in five of their last six outings.
UNI is no stranger to starting the MVC season 2-0. This decade, the Panthers have started MVC action at least 2-0 in every season except 2013 (1-1) and 2016 (0-2). Last season, UNI kicked off league play 10-0.
Thanks to Friday’s 25-12, 25-17, 25-22 victory over Valparaiso, Loyola has won its last two Missouri Valley Conference openers. That marks the first time the Ramblers have won consecutive conference lid-lifters since 2004 and 2005, when they were part of the Horizon League. Last fall, Loyola got off to its best start (3-0) since joining The Valley in 2013.
Triple Doubles Galore
SIU’s Rachel Maguire leads the nation in triple-doubles with eight. She recorded her eighth triple-double of the season in SIU’s five-set win over Bradley Friday with a career-high 17 kills, 24 assists and 17 digs. Maguire’s eight triple-doubles are not only the most by a Missouri Valley Conference player since at least 2015, but are tied for the third-most in a single-season in the NCAA over at least the past five seasons.
Triple Doubles (NCAA Leaders this season)
1. Rachel Maguire, Southern Illinois 8
2. Kalli Hegerle, North Dakota State 4
Triple Doubles (NCAA Single Season - Last 5 Years)
1. Taylor Smith, Eastern Illinois (2017) 10
Jo-Leigh Vervelde, Western Colo (2015) 10
3. Rachel Maguire, Southern Illinois (2019) 8
Five others with 8
Tough to Kill
Six of the 10 MVC programs currently rank Top 25 nationally in digs per set. Bradley leads the league and ranks fourth nationally (19.04), while Evansville ranks 10th (17.82). Indiana State (13th, 17.5), UNI (16th, 17.3), Southern Illinois (17th, 17.1) and Valparaiso (24th, 16.8) round out the teams ranking in the Top 25 nationally.
Feliciano Leading All Rookies
Evansville’s Melanie Feliciano continues to rank towards the top of the NCAA leaderboard in kills and points per set during her rookie season. The freshman ranks eighth nationally in kills per set (4.84) and ninth nationally in points per set (5.22). She is currently leading all freshman nationally in both categories.
Finally at Home
Valpo finally opens its home slate on Monday evening, as the Crusaders will play just nine home matches this season - the nine MVC home contests. Under head coach Carin Avery, Valpo owns a 143-48 (.749) record at the ARC and has been above .500 at home in 16 of her 17 seasons, the only exception being a 5-7 mark in 2016.
Dr. Wynn Banner
Missouri State will unveil a banner in honor of Dr. Mary Jo Wynn at Friday’s home match against UNI. Dr. Wynn, who was the backbone of one of the most progressive and successful women’s athletics programs in the country at Missouri State and a national pioneer for the cause of women’s sports, passed away in January at the age of 87.
This week's Missouri Valley Conference Players of the Week are Illinois State's Kaylee Martin, UNI's Abbi Staack and Evansville's Melanie Feliciano.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Kaylee Martin, Jr., OH, Illinois State
Kaylee Martin went off this weekend, as the Redbirds opened MVC play with a pair of sweeps for the second-straight year. The junior accumulated 34 kills to average 5.67 kills per set behind an impressive .483 hitting. In ISU’s conference-opening sweep of Missouri State, Martin turned in a three-set career-high 20 kills on .621 hitting to help the Redbirds finish with the league’s weekend-best single-match attacking percentage of .344. Martin kept her foot on the gas pedal on Saturday, returning to the court and tallying a match-leading 14 kills, while hitting at a .355 clip, in ISU’s sweep of the Salukis. The Sterling, Illinois, native also added nine digs (1.50 per set) on the weekend. Her hitting percentage against MSU was the second-highest in the league this weekend, while her combined kills per set average (5.67) ranks second in the MVC.
Other Notable Performances: Kat Poore (BRAD); Paige Aspinwall (DU); Melanie Feliciano (UE); Chloe Mason (INS); Elle Van Grinsven (LUC); Aubrey Cheffey (MSU); Kaylissa Arndorfer (UNI); Hannah Becker (SIU)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Abbi Staack, Sr., L/DS, UNI
UNI senior Abbi Staack totaled 53 digs (6.6 per set), five assists, and one kill in two matches over the weekend as the Panthers started league play with wins over Evansville and Indiana State. Staack recorded 23 digs in the team’s first MVC match of the season, taking on Evansville. The senior libero recorded just her second kill of the year on a rare attack attempt. Staack added 30 digs against Indiana State to help the Panthers move to 2-0 in the MVC.
Other Notable Performances: Emma Raleigh (BRAD); Gillian Gergen (DU); Gabriela Macedo (UE); Kendal Meier (ILS); Melina Tedrow (INS); Maddy Moser (LUC); Emma Baalman (SIU)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK:
Melanie Feliciano, Fr., OH, Evansville
In the Aces opening week of conference play, freshman Melanie Feliciano led the team with 5.75 kills per set while hitting a team-high .279 in a weekend split at UNI and Drake. In the opener against the Panthers, Feliciano led the team with 22 kills and two block assists. She added 14 digs as the Aces gave the Panthers all they could handle in a 3-1 match. On Saturday, Feliciano hit an impressive .389 with 24 kills in 54 tried to lead Evansville to a 3-1 road win over Drake. She added nine digs, an ace and block.
Other Notable Performances: Raeann Bergman (BRAD); Haley Bush (DU); Sarah Kushner (ILS); Chloe Mason (INS); Taylor Venuto (LUC); Kaylissa Arndorfer (UNI); Abi Fitzpatrick (SIU)