KIAC Game of the Week: Volleyball -- IU Kokomo at IU East
KIAC Game of the Week: Volleyball -- IU Kokomo at IU East
IU Kokomo (29-2, 10-0 KIAC) at IU East (20-13, 7-2 KIAC) -- Thursday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. ET
LIVE VIDEO / LIVE STATS
RICHMOND, Ind. -- A spot in the NAIA Volleyball National Championship is on the line in this week's installment of the "KIAC Game of the Week" as IU Kokomo visits IU East in KIAC volleyball action on Thursday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. ET in Richmond, Ind.
IU Kokomo (29-2, 10-0 KIAC), the KIAC leader and the owner of a 19-match win streak, can clinch an automatic bid to the NAIA national tournament with one more conference win this year. That would give the Cougars the KIAC regular season title, which comes with the first of two national bids from the KIAC.
IU East (20-13, 7-2 KIAC) is the only team that can prevent IU Kokomo from taking first place in the KIAC and the only team besides the Cougars that could possibly win the conference's regular-season title itself. The Red Wolves would need to knock off IU Kokomo, win its next two remaining conference matches and get some help from WVU Tech in IU Kokomo's last KIAC match.
The KIAC volleyball standings have been tightly contested all year, and the same remains true. The top five teams are separated by just 2.5 games, and it's IU Kokomo leading it all at 10-0 KIAC. Several teams are bunched up after the Cougars including Asbury (Ky.) (8-2 KIAC), IU Southeast (8-2 KIAC), IU East (7-2), Point Park (7-2) and Rio Grande (6-4).
The close conference race puts Thursday's KIAC Game of the Week of high importance, a result that will be closely watched around the KIAC. Live Video will be provided by IU East along with Live Stats, both of which can be found at the link above.
Follow the match on @KIACSports hashtags #KIAC and #KIACgotw. Follow KIAC Volleyball all season long at KIACSports.com
Here's a closer look at the "KIAC Game of the Week" (courtesy of IU East sports information)
LAST TIME OUT
IU East was 3-1 and won the team title at the Indiana Institute of Technology Liz Lykowski Memorial Tournament this past weekend. IU Kokomo has won 19 matches in a row and swept a home tri-match with Rio Grande and Carlow in its last contests.
IU East is 2-2 all-time in NAIA meetings against IU Kokomo. The Red Wolves won their first two meetings in the series. The Cougars won the last two meetings, including a four-set decision in August at the Grace College Classic.
IU EAST STORYLINES
* Mallory Livingston (Union City, Ohio/Mississinawa Valley High School) is the reigning KIAC Attacker of the Week. Livingston was the MVP of the Indiana Tech tournament.
* Mallory Livingston went over the 1,000 digs mark for her career during the Indiana Tech tournament. Livingston is the only IU East volleyball player with 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs.
* Sophomore libero Madison Yoder (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis High School) also went over the 1,000 digs mark for her career during the Indiana Tech tournament. Yoder leads IU East with 4.2 digs per set.
* IU East has clinched a top-eight finish in the KIAC and a spot in the KIAC tournament. The Red Wolves could mathematically finish anywhere between first and seventh in the KIAC standings.
* Mallory Livingston leads the KIAC and is 26th in the nation with 3.75 kills per set.
* Freshman setter Abbey Ketchem (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian High School) leads IU East with 7.6 assists per set. Sophomore middle hitter Sydney Durhamm leads the Red Wolves with 0.3 aces per set and 0.9 blocks per set.
* IU East is 16-1 this season when it hits .200 or better.
IU KOKOMO STORYLINES
* IU Kokomo is riding a 19-match winning streak, including KIAC wins against the University of Rio Grande and Carlow University on Oct. 27.
* The Cougars have clinched no worse than a tie for the KIAC regular season title. IU Kokomo would clinch the outright KIAC regular season title, the No. 1 seed for the KIAC tournament and an automatic bid to the NAIA Volleyball National Championship with a win against IU East.
* Lindi Thomas, a 5-9 sophomore all-around player, is the reigning KIAC Defender of the Week. Thomas leads IU Kokomo with 2.7 kills and 0.5 aces per set
* Cortney Hanson, a 5-4 senior setter, is the reigning KIAC Setter of the Week.
* Nicole Sandmann, a 6-0 freshman middle hitter, is 25th in the nation with 1.11 blocks per set and 47th in the nation with a .303 hitting average.
* IU Kokomo ranks in the national top 50 in digs per set and aces per set.