Western Wayne Today

Wayne State University's volleyball team is set to participate in the 16th annual Midwest Region Crossover, scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Hammond, Indiana. The Warriors will compete against No. 11 Missouri-St. Louis at 10 AM ET and Ashland at 8 PM ET on Friday. Their opponent for Saturday will be determined based on the results of the first day.

Head coach Tim Koth expressed enthusiasm about the event, stating, "The Midwest Region Crossover is one of the best events in collegiate sports! There is no other place where the entire region of a country comes together to compete at one site. With that being said, we are very much looking forward to the out-of-conference competition and to see where we stand in our region at the midway point of the season. It should be an exciting two days."

The tournament, known as the nation's largest collegiate volleyball event, will take place at both Hammond Sportsplex & Community Center and Purdue Northwest's campus. It features teams from three conferences: 14 from Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), 13 from Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), and 11 from Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).

In their recent matches, Wayne State faced Purdue Northwest and Parkside last weekend. They lost to Purdue Northwest but secured a win against Parkside.

Missouri-St. Louis enters this tournament with a strong record under head coach Ryan Young, boasting a winning percentage of .674 over his tenure. Key players include freshman Alayna Santel and junior Caitlin Bishop.

Ashland has also been performing well under second-year head coach Katie Kuhn with notable contributions from GraceAnn Hartman and Sara Krizsa on offense.