Musketeers Travel to Purdue for Stacey Clark Classic

Friday, September 7

West Lafayette, Ind.

10 a.m.

Xavier University

Purdue

Volleyball Preview at Stacey Clark Invite

Musketeers Travel to Purdue for Stacey Clark Classic

09.06.18 | Volleyball

Notes (PDF)

Xavier volleyball will face No. 19 Purdue, RV Louisville and Lipscomb over the weekend

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier volleyball travels to West Lafayette, Ind., for the Stacey Clark Classic hosted by Purdue University on Sept. 7-8. The Musketeers will play the host No. 19 Boilermakers, RV Louisville and Lipscomb during tournament action.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Friday, Sept. 7
Purdue (H) vs Xavier (A) - 10 a.m.
Lipscomb (H) vs Louisville (A) - 12 p.m.
Louisville (H) vs Xavier (A) - 5 p.m.
Purdue (H) vs Lipscomb (A) - 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 8
Xavier (H) vs Lipscomb (A) - 5 p.m.
Purdue (H) vs Louisville (A) - 7:30 p.m.

THE MATCHUP VS PURDUE

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (1-4) at No. 19 PURDUE BOILERMAKERS (5-0)
Match Info - Friday, Sept. 7 - 10 a.m. - Holloway Gymnasium
Live Stats - bit.ly/2NjZMV6
Watch Live ($) - bit.ly/2NPLGYN

ABOUT PURDUE

2018 Record: 5-0 (0-0 Big Ten)
2017 Postseason: NCAA Tournament - 2nd Round
Series History: Xavier trails, 3-0
Last Meeting: PU 3, XU 0 - 9/17/16

NOTABLES
• Purdue is off to a 5-0 start this season, only dropping two sets this season. The Boilermakers will play its first eight matches at home this year.
• Purdue was ranked 19th in the most recent AVCA Coaches Poll. The Boilermakers were ranked 23rd in the preseason coaches' poll.
• Senior libero Brooke Peters was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for her performances against Oakland and Notre Dame last weekend. She posted a career-high 30 digs vs the Irish.
• Purdue was picked to finish seventh in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches' Poll. Senior outside hitter Sherridan Atkinson was also tabbed to the preseason all-conference team.

THE MATCHUP VS LOUISVILLE

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (1-4) vs RV LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (4-2)
Match Info - Friday, Sept. 7 - 5 p.m. - Holloway Gymnasium
Live Stats - bit.ly/2NjZMV6

ABOUT LOUISVILLE

2018 Record: 4-2 (0-0 ACC)
2017 Postseason: NCAA Tournament - 1st Round
Series History: Xavier trails, 18-1
Last Meeting: UL 3, XU 1 - 10/11/06

NOTABLES
• Louisville opened the year by winning four straight matches in three sets. The Cardinals won the Cardinal Classic before competing in the Florida Tournament. Louisville defeated Central Florida in three sets before losing its last two matches to Florida and Southern California.
• Louisville, the 2017 ACC Co-Champions, were selected to finish second in the ACC Preseason Coaches' Poll behind Pitt. The Cardinals also received one first-place vote in the poll.
• The Cardinals had four players earn preseason All-ACC honors in Jasmine Bennett, Melanie McHenry, Wilma Rivera and Molly Sauer.
• Louisville enters the weekend ranked seventh nationally in hitting percentage (.298) and 45th in blocks per set (2.55). Senior middle blocker Jasmine Bennett ranks fifth nationally in hitting percentage (.511).

THE MATCHUP VS LIPSCOMB

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (1-4) at LIPSCOMB BISON (3-2)
Match Info - Saturday, Sept. 8 - 5 p.m. - Holloway Gymnasium
Live Stats - bit.ly/2NjZMV6

ABOUT LIPSCOMB

2018 Record: 3-2 (0-0 ASUN)
2017 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier leads, 3-1
Last Meeting: XU 3, LU 1 - 9/19/14

NOTABLES
• Lipscomb enters the weekend with a 3-2 record, collecting wins over SMU, Iowa and San Diego State.
• The Bison were picked to finish third in the ASUN Preseason Coaches' Poll after posting a 16-13 (8-6) record last season.
• Lipscomb is led by two-time ASUN Player of the Year Carlyle Nusbaum. The senior outside hitter finished the 2017 campaign ranked fourth in the NCAA in kills per set (5.22). She currently leads the team in kills (4.22 k/s), while ranking second in digs (2.39 d/s).

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW

• Xavier traveled to San Juan for the Puerto Rico Clásico on Aug. 31 - Sept. 2. The Musketeers went 0-3 with losses against Missouri, Arizona State and Towson.

• Freshman Norah Painter led the team in kills (30) over the weekend, while adding a .288 hitting percentage. The outside hitter added four digs and five blocks.

• Senior Laura Grossman posted 2.70 k/s and 2.40 d/s last weekend. She also added a team-high four aces to go along with two blocks.

• Meredith Klare paced the teams in digs during tournament play, averaging 3.10 digs per set. The senior libero added three aces and 11 assists.

• Senior setter McKena Estes averaged 5.20 a/s and 1.30 d/s last weekend. Sophomore setter Nadia Dieudonne chipped in 5.10 a/s and 2.0 d/s.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

• Morgan Finn was named to the Puerto Rico Clásico All-Tournament Team last weekend. The senior right side hitter posted 18 kills and seven total blocks over the weekend.

• The Toledo, Ohio native has record 28 kills and 11 blocks to rank third on the team this season.

KLARE - RECORD WATCH

• Senior Meredith Klare has 1,542 career digs to rank fourth all-time in program history. The libero is 68 digs away from moving into third place all-time.

• The Union, Ky., native posted 520 digs a year ago, the fourth most in single-season school history.

NOTABLES

• Senior Meredith Klare leads the team in digs (3.56 d/s) this season. The libero led the BIG EAST in digs per set (4.37) last year and finished the year ranked 88th nationally in total digs.

• Freshman Norah Painter ranks second on the team in kills (2.87 k/s), while ranking second in the conference among freshmen in the category. The outside hitter has added a .284 hitting percentage and seven blocks.

• Audrey Adams ranks second in the BIG EAST in hitting percentage (.418). Freshman middle blocker Jayda Carlton ranks 10th in the category (.288) to lead all BIG EAST freshmen.

• Senior Laura Grossman ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in kills, averaging 3.41 kills per set. She also ranks fifth in total points per set.

• Xavier ranks second in the conference in hitting percentage (.273) and fourth in assists (12.41 a/s) and kills (13.29 k/s). the Musketeers also rank fifth in blocks (1.76 b/s).

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

• Xavier's five opponents this season have combined to post an 18-13 (.581) record. The schedule doesn't get easier as the Musketeers three opponents at the Stacey Clark Classic have combined to post a 12-4 record.

FIRST SERVE

• Xavier will play its first eight matches on the road. The Musketeers also travel to the Puerto Rico Clásico on Aug. 31-Sept. 2 and the Purdue Tournament on Sept. 7-8.

• The Musketeers will host their own tournament at Cintas Center on Sept. 14-15. Xavier takes on Indiana, Eastern Kentucky and crosstown rival Cincinnati during tournament action.

• Xavier will only play one non-conference match outside of tournament action. The Musketeers play host to rival Dayton on Monday, Nov. 5 at Cintas Center.

OPPONENT BREAKDOWN

• Xavier will play three teams that finished the year ranked in the AVCA Coaches' Poll: No. 16 Creighton, No. 18 Purdue and No. 20 Missouri.

• The Musketeers take on five teams that participated in the 2017 NCAA Tournament (Missouri, Purdue, Louisville, Creighton and Marquette). Twelve of the Musketeers 21 opponents posted a winning record last year.

• The Musketeers' 21 opponents combined to post a 351-292 last season with a .546 winning percentage. Xavier's opponents averaged 16.7 wins a year ago.

• Xavier will face teams from 11 different conferences this year, including teams from the Big Ten, ACC, PAC-12 and Big 12.

• The Musketeers will face three teams for the first time in program history this fall: Oklahoma, Arizona State and Indiana. The meetings with Northern Illinois and Towson will only be the second meetings in school history.

ABOUT THE TEAM

• Xavier graduated five seniors in Lauren Frilling, Samantha Foti, Kristen Massa, Alexis Newsome and Mackenzi Humm.

• The Musketeers return nine letterwinners from last year, including six upperclassmen. Xavier will have five seniors on the team this fall.

• Xavier added six newcomers to the 2018 roster in Jayda Carlton, Ellie Chaffee, Kelly Franxman, Mackenzie Mangette, Norah Painter and Ryan Shannon.

• Xavier players have earned AVCA All-American honors nine times in the last 13 years. Abbey Bessler most recently earned AVCA All-American honorable mention team honors in 2016.

BIG EAST NOTES

• Xavier opens BIG EAST play on Sept. 21 at St. John's. Seven of Xavier's first 11 conference matches are on the road.

• Xavier has posted a 59-29 record in BIG EAST play since joining the conference in 2013. The Musketeers have advanced to the conference tournament in three of their four seasons in the BIG EAST.

• Creighton will host the 2018 BIG EAST Tournament after being held at Marquette in 2017.

NEW ASSISTANT COACHES

• Xavier added two new assistant coaches during the offseason in Katie Meyer and Ali Butcher. Meyer was named an assistant coach in January of 2018 after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at Ursuline College.

• Butcher was named a volunteer assistant coach in August of 2018. She previously worked at Elevation Volleyball Club for two years, serving as an assistant to the club directors while also working as a club coach.

PRESEASON POLL

• The Musketeers were picked to finish tied for sixth in the preseason BIG EAST Coaches' Poll. Xavier was tied with St. John's in sixth place, while Marquette was picked to win the conference title.

UP NEXT

• Xavier returns to action on Sept. 14-15 as the Musketeers host the Xavier Tournament. The Musketeers open tournament play on Friday at 12:30 p.m. against Indiana.