NOTEBOOK (PDF)
A big week lies ahead on the conference calendar, as the three teams with unblemished league records will square off with one another. Missouri State (6-0 MVC) will travel to both Drake (6-0 MVC) and UNI (6-0 MVC) this weekend, while the Bulldogs and Panthers will also welcome Southern Illinois (3-3 MVC). Fourth place Illinois State (4-3 MVC) faces Indiana State (3-3 MVC) on the road Monday and will host Bradley (1-6 MVC) Friday. Valparaiso (2-4 MVC) will look to move up the standings with home matches against Indiana State and Evansville (0-6 MVC) over the weekend.
Three’s Company
For the first time in Valley history three teams have started league play with a 6-0 record. Missouri State and Drake will meet this Friday in Des Moines in a square off of two 6-0 MVC teams. If UNI and Missouri State enter Saturday’s match with identical 7-0 MVC marks, it would mark the first match of 7-0 league teams since UNI and Illinois State locked horns on Oct. 17, 2014, in Normal, Illinois. Illinois State came away with a 3-1 win over the Panthers in Redbird Arena in 2014. UNI and Missouri State were both 8-0 when the pair met on Oct. 17, 2009, in Cedar Falls. UNI posted a 3-1 win in that match in the McLeod Center.
Streaks Roll On
Drake, UNI and Missouri State all earned wins on Saturday to keep their winning streaks alive. The Bulldogs won their 10th-straight, the Bears their seventh-straight and the Panthers their sixth-straight match. The MVC is the only conference in the NCAA to have three teams riding a winning streak of six or more (DU-10, MSU-7 and UNI-6).
Something’s Gotta Give
One streak will end on Friday as Missouri State heads to Des Moines for a matchup with Drake. The Bears currently have the longest road win streak in the NCAA, sitting at 16-straight, while the Bulldogs have the fifth longest win streak in the NCAA, sitting at 10-straight.
Longest Active Road Winning Streaks (NCAA)
16 – Missouri State
13 – Stanford
Longest Active Winning Streaks (NCAA)
16 – VCU
14 – Western Kentucky
13 – Florida
11 – Cal Poly
10 – Drake, Alabama A&M, Pittsburgh
Valley Streaks
Missouri State is currently working its way up the list of the longest regular season MVC match win streaks in MVC history. The Bears now hold the sixth-longest streak in league history following Saturday’s sweep of Southern Illinois. The streak also currently sits fifth nationally among active win streaks in league play.
Consecutive MVC Wins (MVC History)
66 – UNI (Nov. 8, 1997-Oct. 13, 2001)
59 – UNI (Sept. 18, 2009-Oct. 5, 2012)
39 – UNI (Oct. 7, 1994-Sept. 27, 1996)
37 – Wichita State (Sept. 8, 2007-Sept. 25, 2009)
29 – Wichita State (Oct. 29, 2004-Sept. 29, 2006)
22 – Missouri State (Sept. 20, 2016-current)
21 – UNI (Oct. 4, 2002-Oct. 17, 2003)
Consecutive Conference Wins (NCAA)
47 – Dayton (Atlantic 10)
38 – Fairfield (Metro Atlantic)
30 – Western Kentucky (Conference USA)
29 – Alabama State (Southwestern)
22 – Missouri State (MVC)
AVCA Top-25
UNI moved up to No. 20 in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll (Oct. 9) following sweeps over Indiana State and Evansville last week. The Panthers have been ranked in 114 polls in the history of the AVCA Top 25 with this being their highest mark since 2011. Missouri State is receiving votes and sits 31st with eight votes.
Record Setting
Jaelyn Keene’s name already appears in multiple spots in Illinois State’s record book, but she added a new entry Saturday night when she tallied a career-high 29 kills in the Redbirds’ win over visiting Valparaiso. The 29 kills matched Illinois State’s Redbird Arena record for kills in a match, and are tied for the fourth-most kills in a match in school history. The 29 kills are also the most recorded by a Valley player in a league match this season.
NCAA RPI Report
The latest NCAA RPI report for the 2017 season has been released (Oct. 9) and the Valley has two teams featured in the top-60. UNI leads the league at No. 44, while Missouri State moved up to No. 57 this week.
Senior CLASS Award Candidates
Illinois State’s Jaelyn Keene and Missouri State’s Lily Johnson have been named candidates for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award. Keene and Johnson are among 30 NCAA Division I candidates in volleyball for the award which recognizes notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
This week's Missouri Valley Conference Players of the Week are Illinois State's Jaelyn Keene, Drake's Kylee Macke and Illinois State's Stef Jankiewicz.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jaelyn Keene, Sr., MB, Illinois State
Illinois State senior Jaelyn Keene played a leading role in guiding the Redbirds to a pair of conference wins over the weekend, leading her team in kills in each match, while setting a Redbird Arena record in Saturday’s victory. For the weekend, Keene averaged 5.12 kills per set on a .411 hitting percentage, to go along with four aces and averages of 1.25 digs and 1.12 blocks per set. It was Keene’s performance in a win over Valparaiso Saturday that stood out, as she tallied a career-high 29 kills in the Redbird win, matching the Illinois State Redbird Arena record for kills in a match. Keene currently ranks among the top 10 in The Valley in hitting percentage (.324), kills per set (3.95), aces per set (0.36) and blocks per set (1.01), and leads the league in total aces (27) and points per set (4.88).
Other Notable Performances: Erica Haslag (BRAD); Cathryn Cheek (DU); Lily Johnson (MSU); Bri Weber (UNI); Taylor Graboski (VALPO)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kylee Macke, Fr., L, Drake
Drake freshman Kylee Macke led the Bulldogs with 38 digs in a pair of MVC road wins to average 5.43 digs per set in the team’s 3-1 win at Evansville and 3-0 sweep at Indiana State. Macke helped hold Drake’s opponents to just 0.098 hitting in the wins. The freshman opened the weekend with a team-high 26 digs at Evansville, the second-highest total of her career and highest in a four-set match, and added 12 digs in the three-set win at Indiana State. Macke remains second in the MVC in digs in conference matches this season and is the lone underclassman ranked in the top five.
Other Notable Performances: Yavianliz Rosado (BRAD); Alex Nunez (LUC); Lily Johnson (MSU); Taylor Graboski (VALPO)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Stef Jankiewicz, Fr., S, Illinois State
Illinois State’s Stef Jankiewicz tallied the most assists by a Missouri Valley Conference player in a league match this season as she distributed 60 assists in the Redbirds’ win over Valparaiso Saturday night at Redbird Arena. Jankiewicz averaged 10.38 assists per set over the weekend, while helping Illinois State to a 2-0 record. Jankiewicz also chipped in 24 digs (3.00 per set), four kills, two blocks and an ace over the two matches. The Redbirds’ freshman setter currently ranks second in The Valley in assists, at 10.45 this season.
Other Notable Performances: Emily Plock (DU); Elle Van Grinsven (LUC); Jaydlin Seehase (UNI); Rylee Cookerly (VALPO)