PENSACOLA, Fla. – After sweeping all four of their opponents last weekend in the Springhill Suites Invitational, the 4-0 University of West Florida Volleyball team will be looking for similar success this weekend when they travel to Indianapolis, Ind. to play in the UIndy Invitational.

Hosted by the University of Indianapolis, this tournament features a similar bracket style to that of the Colorado Premier where depending on how the Argonauts finish on Friday will determine their opponents on Saturday.

Currently, West Florida is set to begin action on Friday (Sep. 10) against Cedarville with first serve set for 1 pm (CST). After a short break, the Argonauts will go up against the host team, UIndy, at 6 pm (CST) to close out the first day of action.

In total, the complete field at this Invitational features Winona State, Ashland, Northern Michigan, Wheeling, Missouri S&T, Bemidji State, Cedarville, Indianapolis, and of course your Argonauts.

About West Florida: As the newly ranked No. 21 team in the nation, West Florida is looking to build on a fantastic first weekend of play when they travel to Indianapolis this weekend.

Beating the likes of No. 23 Wheeling, Spring Hill, Southern Indiana, and Palm Beach Atlantic all in straight sets, the Argonauts set the tone for their season early. This 4-0 start marked the first season since 2014 that West Florida has started 4-0 and is the first season since 2010 that the Argonauts have swept their opening weekend tournament.

Junior outside hitter Madi Cooler was a huge reason for this success this past weekend as she was named the Springhill Suites Invitational Most Outstanding Player as well as the Gulf South Conference's Offensive Player of the Week for her efforts.

Junior setter Taylor Vaneekeren also had a big opening weekend finishing with 131 assists in just 12 sets played. These 131 assists were enough to see Vaneekeren continue to rise up the West Florida record books passing Sierra Hansen to move to seventh all-time in UWF Volleyball history.

As a team, the Argonauts currently rank top in the GSC in hitting %, assists, kills, and blocks while being top-three in opponent hitting %, assists, kills, blocks, aces, and digs as well. Nationally, West Florida leads all of Division II in assists per set (15.42), kills per set (16.58), and is fourth in hitting % (.350) after the first week of play. 

About Cedarville: The Yellow Jackets will enter this weekend of play without any matches under their belt after their first weekend of matches were canceled.

Tabbed as G-MAC South Preseason favorites, Cedarville is looking to improve on a 9-4 record from the abbreviated 2020-21 Spring season where they advanced to their conference semifinal match.

With a roster composed of 11 returners from the Spring season as well as four newcomers, the Yellow Jackets bring a good mix of experience and freshness to this new season.

Liene Miller is back for Cedarville after leading the team in the Spring with 181 kills which was good for 3.77 kills per set. Another key piece is also back for the Yellow Jackets as Lauren Willow is back after recording 153 kills in the Spring to be a great one-two punch with Miller.

About UIndy: The Greyhounds enter their home Invitational this weekend after going a chilly 1-3 in the Seawolf Invitational in Anchorage, Alaska to start their season.

Picked to finish third in the GLVC East Division Preseason Poll, UIndy bring back a trio of players who all received All-GLVC honors this past Spring.

Redshirt Junior MaKenna Barnhart returns this season after earning All-GLVC Second Team honors in the Spring. The defensive specialist led the Greyhounds in digs last season picking up 323 in just 65 sets played.

Elizabeth Eads is also back for UIndy after earning Second Team All-GLVC honors in the Spring similar to Barnhart. The Junior picked up 111 kills in 49 sets played which was fourth-best for the Greyhounds last season.

Finally, the last All-GLVC selection from last season for the Greyhounds is setter Alex Equihua who is back for her Redshirt Junior season. Totaling 567 assists in 54 sets played in the Spring, Equihua is an experienced setter with great control over the Greyhounds offense.

Schedule for the Weekend: Play is scheduled to get underway Friday at 1 pm (CST) when the Argonauts square off with Cedarville in their first match of the Invitational. Then that same night, West Florida will play hosts UIndy at 6 pm to wrap up their first day of action.

Saturday, the Argonauts are set to face two teams once again however the two opponents will be decided on Friday and will be based on the other team's play on the opening day of competition.

How to Follow the Argos: For complete information on UWF Volleyball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at @UWFVolleyball