Junior Michelle LeSouder is Niagara's career leader in kills.

   With its return to the friendly confines of the Gallagher Center, the Niagara University volleyball team (2-12) looks to snap a three-match losing streak when it hosts Marshall (11-6) Wednesday at 7 p.m. on the Monteagle Ridge campus.

SETTING THE SCENE

 After playing three consecutive tournaments, the Purple Eagles host their final non-conference match of the season when the Thundering Herd come to town.

   The Marshall match begins a three-match home stand for Niagara and is its first home outing since Sept. 15.

   The Purple Eagles will be looking for their first win since Oct. 1 when they beat Delaware State in three games.

  Marshall enters the match on a three-match winning streak and will playing its third match on a four-match road swing.

A LOOK AT THE PURPLE EAGLES

   Niagara has had 10 days to prepare for its final non-league match up.

   The Purple Eagles have lost their last two matches and all six games. They are hitting .168 on the season and allowing opponents to hit .243. Junior middle hitter Karen Simpson is having a break-out year and is leading the Purple Eagles with a .307 hitting percentage and 30 blocks. Classmate Michelle LeSouder is the only other attacker hitting a .200 percentage-or-better (.202). She leads the squad in kills per game (4.00) and aces (11).

   Junior Jennifer Hansford had been handling all the setting duties, averaging 8.96 assists per game. She is also one of three players digging two-or-more attacks a game (2.17).

   Defensively, Niagara is digging a lot of balls. Junior libero Micole Daluisio tops the team with 4.62 a game, while junior outside attacker Erin Graham is second (2.57). Sophomore Anne Wachob has a team-high eight solo and 30 total blocks.  

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

   The Thundering Herd are hitting .249, while opponents are hitting .207. Freshman outside attacker Kelly-Anne Billingy is Marshall’s top offensive threat. She leads the team in kills per game (5.69), hitting percentage (.320) and aces (32). She also averages 2.22 digs per game.

   Junior middle blocker Amber Sims tops the team in blocks (55), while freshman outside hitter Stephanie Cahill averages a team-high 3.32 digs an outing.

   Marshall has five players hitting .200-or-better and four with 20-or-more aces.  

SERIES RECORDS

   Niagara will meet Marshall for the first time Wednesday. 

ALL-TIME LEADER

   Junior Michelle LeSouder became Niagara’s career leader in kills (1,136) in the Purple Eagles last match.

   LeSouder entered the season with 948 kills and has 188 going into the Marshall match.

   She passed Jessica Anderson (1992-95) to take over the top spot on the list. 

MILLENNIUM MARK

   Michelle LeSouder is just the second Purple Eagle in the program’s 28-year history to record 1,000 career kills.

   The outside hitter accomplished the feat on her first kill in the Youngstown State match on Sept. 10.  

CHART MOVERS

   Juniors Jennifer Hansford and Micole Daluisio continue to climb the Niagara career records chart.

   Hansford is currently third on the career assists chart with 2,155 assists. She is just the third Purple Eagle to have 2,000-or-more career assists.

   Daluisio became the fourth Niagara player to register 1,000-plus digs with her performance at the Bucknell Invitational. She fifth on the career list with 1,065 digs and needs 46 to pass Karen Catalano (1992-95).  

THE RUSH IS ON

   Freshman Raelean Rush has been improving match by match. The outside hitter is hitting .171 and averages 2.51 kills per game. She is tied for the team lead in aces (11) and is in double digits in assists (18) and blocks (16).

   Rush had a string of five matches, Sept. 18-Oct. 2, with double digits in kills, including a career-high 14 vs. Delaware State on Oct. 2. 

SINGLE-SEASON WATCH LIST

   Micole Daluisio is slowly inching toward the top 10 in digs in a single season. She enters the Marshall match needing 132 digs to bump Jessica Anderson (339, 1995) from 10th on the list.

   Daluisio holds the singles season mark for digs. She had 495 in 2002. 

DALUISIO NAMED MAAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

   Libero Micole Daluisio earned Niagara’s first MAAC Player of the Week honor when she was named the league’s defensive player Oct. 4.

MAAC STATISTICS

   Niagara has four players ranked among the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference leaders as of Oct. 11.

   Karen Simpson is second in hitting with a .307 average. Michelle LeSouder is third in kills, averaging 4.00 a game.

   Jennifer Hansford is eighth in assists and Micole Daluisio second in digs.