Wright State hosts HL Championships this weekend

The Wright State volleyball team will return to action in a place that has been very kind to this season – home court inside McLin Gymnasium.

The Raiders are set to host the 2019 Horizon League Volleyball Championship after winning their first regular season title in program history with a 24-4 overall record, a 13-3 mark in HL play and a perfect 11-0 campaign at home inside McLin Gymnasium.

Tickets for the Horizon League Championship can be purchased in advance by clicking here.

Championship action gets underway on Friday with a pair of quarterfinal matches, as No. 3 seed Green Bay battles No. 6 seed Oakland at 3 p.m., followed by No. 4 seed Northern Kentucky taking on No. 5 seed UIC at 6 p.m. The Raiders will take the floor for the first time on Saturday afternoon in the first semifinal, squaring off at 3 p.m. against the lowest remaining seed. The second semifinal at 6 p.m. will pit No. 2 seed Milwaukee against the highest remaining seed after Friday's quarterfinals.

Sunday's championship match will be a 2 p.m. start. Every match of the 2019 Horizon League Volleyball Championship will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Wright State played a major role in the announcement of the league's awards on Thursday afternoon, as second-year head coach Allie Matters was named the league's Coach of the Year, while sophomore Jenna Story was named the Defensive Player of the Year. Additionally, Nyssa Baker, Celia Powers, Lainey Stephenson and Story were each named to the All-Horizon League First Team. Teddie Sauer was an Honorable Mention All-League performer and Megan Alders was named to the All-Freshman Team.

The seven league honorees are the most in Wright State program history. Wright State's 24 victories entering the Championship are the fourth-most in program history and the most since the 1989 campaign.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
No. 2 Milwaukee

25-5 overall record; 12-4 Horizon League
Ari Miller, Carmen Heilemann, and Jess Grabowski each collected a postseason awards - Miller's stellar collegiate debut earned her the title of Freshman of the Year and nods on the First Team All-League and All-Freshman Team.
Last season, Milwaukee finished with eight wins. This year, the Panthers finished the regular season 25-5 and own the nation's best win improvement (+17) from a year ago.
The 25 victories are the most for a Milwaukee team since 2011 (25) and the 12 Horizon League victories are the most for the Panthers since 2013 (12).

No. 3 Green Bay

20-8 overall record; 12-4 Horizon League
Taylor Wolf was named Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, while Maddie Yoss was named Setter of the Year in the conference. Brenna Hesse earned herself a selection on the All-Freshman team.
The Phoenix finished conference play at 12-4 on the season

No. 4 Northern Kentucky

16-12 overall record; 9-7 Horizon League
Anna Brinkmann, Ashton Terrill, Reilly Briggs and Abby Kanakry earned all-conference accolades, as Brinkmann was recognized on the All-Horizon League First Team and Terrill pulled in honorable mention honors. Briggs and Kanakry both earned a spot on the all-freshman team.
The Norse enter the weekend riding a five-match winning streak.

No. 5 UIC

20-10 overall record; 9-7 Horizon League
Michelle Glover has been named to the Horizon League Volleyball All-League First Team.
The Flames have had a huge presence at the net this season, tallying 281 total blocks as a squad to rank 12th in the nation. UIC averages 2.49 blocks per set as a team, a mark which leads the Horizon League and ranks 37th in the nation.

No. 6 Oakland

15-13 overall record; 8-8 Horizon League
Jamie Walling, Lindsay Wightman and Brittany Welch all earned Horizon League honors - Walling and Wightman were named Honorable Mention All-League, while Welch was named to the All-Freshman team.
Head Coach Rob Beam collected his 200^th career win last Friday against IUPUI. Oakland fell to Wright State to close the regular season last Saturday afternoon.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Megan Alders

Nyssa Baker

Celia Powers

Teddie Sauer

Lainey Stephenson

Jenna Story

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