PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo volleyball will remain on the road this weekend as they travel to Denver to play in two non-conference matches against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foes at an RMAC Regional pod hosted by Regis University.
The ThunderWolves will open the first of its two RMAC regional pods on Friday, Sept. 29 as they face UCCS at 5 p.m., before concluding the weekend with a 3 p.m. match on Saturday, Sept. 30 against 13th-ranked Regis.
CSU Pueblo enters this weekend's action sporting a 4-8 overall record and a 3-1 mark in the RMAC after splitting road matches last weekend in South Dakota. The Pack opened the weekend with a three-set sweep at Black Hills State, but fell in a five-setter the next day at South Dakota Mines. It was the third five set match on the season for the Pack.
In the Preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll, the Pack were tabbed to finish fifth as they received 147 points in voting by the league's 15 head coaches. Last season, CSU Pueblo went 19-9 overall and 12-6 in the RMAC and advanced to the NCAA South Regional Tournament for the second consecutive season.
Friday's match-up with UCCS marks the 64th all-time meeting in the series with the Pack holding a 32-31 edge in the series, while Saturday's match with Regis will mark 54th all-time meeting between the two schools with Regis holding a 42-11 advantage in the series. The Pack have won six straight matches against UCCS, including both matches last season in four sets and they have lost two of their last three to Regis, including suffering a four-set loss at home last season to the Rangers.
ABOUT THE THUNDERWOLVES
CSU Pueblo has been paced offensively this season by redshirt sophomore outside hitter
Payton Van Veen (Springfield, Mo./Washburn) and sophomore outside hitter
Sadie Scoville (Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove). Van Veen leads the team in kills (131), kills per set (2.98) and is third in blocks with 24 and fourth in aces with eight and is hitting .262, while Scoville is second in both kills (121) and kills per set (2.69), she leads the team in digs (123), digs per set (2.73) and aces (19) and has recorded five double-doubles.
One other Pack player has recorded over 100 kills this season as sophomore outside hitter
Kendall Harrington (San Antonio, Texas/Tom C. Clark) has tallied 105 kills and is averaging 2.63 kills per set and is hitting .302 on the year. She has had four straight double-digit kill matches, including a season-high 16 kills last time out against South Dakota Mines.
The Pack offense is directed by junior setter
Sabrina King (Parker, Colo./Lutheran) and senior setter
Grace Jansen (Sandy, Utah/Jordan) and. King leads the team in assists with 227 and is averaging 5.04 assists per set and has had 17 aces and 72 digs, while Jansen has tallied 224 assists and is averaging 4.98 assists per set. In addition, she is second in aces with 18 and is third in digs with 86. King has posted three double-doubles, while Jansen has had two double-doubles.
Six Pack players have recorded 12 or more blocks on the season with redshirt sophomore middle blocker
Golden Finch (Albuquerque, N.M./Cal State Bakersfield) leading the way with 32 as she is averaging 1.00 blocks per set. She has had three or more blocks in a match seven times, including a high of seven blocks last Friday at Black Hills State. In addition to Finch, junior middle blocker
Josey Nunn (Kingwood, Texas/Porter) is second in blocks with 26, while Van Veen is right behind with 24. Scoville has had 17 blocks, while Harrington has had 15 and freshman middle blocker
Macy Wood (Sandy, Utah/Alta) has recorded 12 blocks and is averaging 0.86 blocks per set. As a team, the Pack have recorded 80.5 blocks per set and are third in the league in blocks per set 1.79.
As a team, CSU Pueblo has recorded 567 kills, 648 digs, 81 aces and is hitting .235 on the year, which is fifth-best in the league. The Pack are also averaging 11.56 assists per set and their opponents are hitting .223 on the year.
ABOUT UCCS
The Mountain Lions, who play at Regis on Thursday night, come into this weekend's action having won three straight matches to push its record to 5-6 overall and 3-0 in the RMAC. The win streak began with a three-set sweep at home against South Dakota Mines, before earning a four-set home win against Black Hills State and then posted a three-set road win last Friday against New Mexico Highlands. Prior to the current three match win streak, UCCS had opened the season with a 2-6 record.
Leading the way offensively for UCCS this season is senior middle blocker Nicole Medlin, who is averaging 2.29 kills and 0.81 blocks per set and is hitting .314. In addition to Medlin, graduate student outside hitter Lauryn Shockley is averaging 2.22 kills, 1.83 digs and is hitting .167 and freshman outside hitter Sydnee Walker is averaging 2.17 kills and 2.20 digs per set and leads the team in aces with 17.
Sophomore setter Joei Barela is averaging 6.98 assists and 1.69 digs per set. Her 6.98 assists per set are ninth-best in the RMAC.
Defensively, UCCS is led by sophomore libero Mackenzie Ransom, who is averaging 3.02 digs per set and is second in aces with 15, while Medlin leads in blocks with 34 and graduate student middle blocker Julia Geiger is second in blocks with 25 as she averages 0.66 blocks per set.
As a team, UCCS is hitting .170 and have recorded 490 kills, 538 digs, 68 blocks and 79 aces. UCCS' opponents are hitting .170 on the year, which is fourth-best in the league.
The Mountain Lions are coached by Tara Hittle, who is in her second season directing the Mountain Lions volleyball program. Hittle, who came to UCCS after spending three years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Pepperdine, has compiled a 18-19 overall record with the Mountain Lions.
In the Preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll, UCCS was tabbed to finish seventh as they earned 114 points from the league's coaches. Last season, the Mountain Lions went 13-13 and finished tied for seventh in the RMAC standings with an 8-10 record.
ABOUT REGIS
The Rangers, who host UCCS on Thursday before facing the Pack on Saturday, come into this weekend's action ranked 13th in the latest Taraflex/AVCA Division II Coaches' Poll as they are sporting an 8-3 overall record and a 3-0 mark in the RMAC. The Rangers have reeled off five straight wins since suffering a four-set loss to current No. 1 ranked Wayne State (Neb.) at the Colorado Premier Challenge on Sept. 8. Regis went 3-1 at the Premier Challenge event that they co-hosted with seventh-ranked MSU Denver.
Leading the way offensively for Regis is graduate student right side hitter Klaudia Sowizral, who is averaging 3.03 kills per set and is sixth in the RMAC in hitting percentage at .372. In addition to Sowizral, graduate student middle blocker Nadine Burbrink is averaging 2.44 kills, 0.59 digs and 1.21 blocks per set and she is hitting .330, while junior middle blocker Amelia Davis is averaging 2.18 kills and 1.28 blocks per set and is hitting .274.
Graduate student libero Haley Kennedy leads the team in digs with 128 and is averaging 3.28 per set and also leads in aces with 14, while graduate student setter Mara LeGrand, who was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Colorado Premier Challenge, is second in digs with 106 and is averaging 2.72 digs per set and leads the team in assists with 395 as she averages 10.13 assists per set, which is fourth-best in the RMAC.
As a team, Regis leads the league in blocking as they average 2.55 blocks per set and have had four players record 20 or more blocks. Davis leads the way with 50, while Burbrink has had 47 blocks and LeGrand has tallied 24 blocks.
The Rangers are hitting .265 as a team and have recorded 519 kills, 538 digs, 99.5 blocks and 59 aces. Regis' opponents are hitting just .148 against them this season, which is tops in the league and they have played just one five set match on the season, which was a 3-2 win over Cal State-LA in its second match of the season.
Regis is coached by Joel List, who is in his seven season as the Rangers' head coach. He has compiled a 131-40 overall record and has led the program to two RMAC regular season titles, two RMAC Tournament titles and four NCAA Tournament appearances.
In the Preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll, Regis was tabbed to finish second as they earned a first place vote and 181 points. Last season, Regis went 22-8 and 16-2 in the RMAC and advanced to the championship match of the RMAC Tournament and earned its ninth straight trip to the NCAA Regional Tournament.
UP NEXT FOR PACK
Following this weekend's RMAC Regional pod at Regis, the Pack will return home to host matches next weekend (Oct. 6-7) against 11th-ranked Colorado Mesa on Friday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. and then will face Westminster on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. Both of the matches are being held in conjunction with Homecoming and Hall of Fame Weekend on the CSU Pueblo campus.
