Niagara will participate in the annual Hoosier Classic, hosted by Indiana University, this weekend for its final in-season tournament of the season. The Purple Eagles open the classic against the Eastern Illinois Panthers on Friday at 5 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday versus Indiana at Noon and Gonzaga at 5:30 p.m.

Niagara heads into Hoosier Classic on a two-match winning streak after defeating Delaware State and Cornell at the Cornell Tournament last weekend. The Purple Eagles went 2-2 to finish third out of five teams and had two players, Hannah Hedrick and Sam Morgan, named to the all-tournament team.

Hedrick led the team in kills and kills per set and her consistent play led to her to her second consecutive all-tournament recognition. Morgan set the program all-time digs mark on Friday with 25 digs in the first match of the Cornell Tournament, breaking Micole Daluisio’s ('05) total of 1,793; she currently has 1,856 career digs.

NU has been receiving solid attacking numbers from Kari Honomichl and Ellen Senf and defensive contributions from Amanda Wilken and Kathy Bibler. Freshman setter Nicole Bayer stepped in last week and had a career-high 45 assists against American University on Saturday.

EIU (2-5) is currently in a three-match losing streak and is led by Reynae Hutchinson and Katie Kirby with 2.45 and 2.32 kills per set.

IU (4-2) defeated Niagara, 3-0, in last season's Niagara/Canisius Invitational at the Gallagher Center. The Hoosiers, who reached the NCAA Sweet 16 last season, are in a middle of a three-match winning streak. Kelci Marschall leads the team with 71 kills (3.23 per set), Whitney Granado leads the team with 152 assists (10.86) and Caitlin Cox leads the team with 105 digs (4.77 per set). Niagara’s match can be heard live here.

Gonzaga (2-5) heads into its final in-season tournament losing two of its three matches. The Bulldogs are led by Laura Day (81 kills, 3.00 per set), Deni Van de Mortel (254 assists, 9.41 assists per set) and Kristina Lavrisha (108 digs, 4.00 per set).