PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo women's volleyball returns to the road this coming weekend as the ThunderWolves travel to Durango, Colo., to play four matches over two days (Sept. 8-9) at the Fort Lewis Skyhawks Volleyball Invitational held at Whalen Gymnasium on the Fort Lewis campus.

The Pack will open the event with a 9 a.m. MT match on Sept. 8 against Angelo State, before facing Southwestern Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. MT to close out its first day schedule. On Sept. 9, the Pack will open the day with a 9 a.m. MT match against Texas A&M-International, before concluding the weekend with a 3 p.m. MT match against East Central (Okla.) University.  

CSU Pueblo enters this weekend's play sporting an 0-4 overall record after last weekend's season opening Texas A&M-Kingsville Invitational. At the Texas A&M-Kingsville Invitational, the Pack opened the season with a five-set loss to Tiffin, before suffering a four-set setback at the hands of Texas A&M-Kingsville. The Pack then fell in three sets to Quincy, who received votes in the Preseason AVCA/Taraflex Division II Preseason poll, before concluding the event with a hard-fought five-set loss to Ouachita Baptist. The 0-4 start to the season is the worst for the program since the 2019 team started the season 0-5 en route to finishing the season with a 14-14 record.

ABOUT THE THUNDERWOLVES
CSU Pueblo was paced by the play of sophomore outside hitter Sadie Scoville (Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove) and redshirt sophomore outside hitter Payton Van Veen (Springfield, Mo./Washburn). Scoville, who named to the Texas A&M-Kingsville All-Tournament Team, recorded 54 kills, 47 digs, five aces, six blocks and hit .273 in four matches, including tallying 16 kills and 20 digs in the final match of the event against Ouachita Baptist, while Van Veen had 45 kills, nine blocks and hit .209 for the four matches, including tallying 17 kills against Ouachita Baptist.

One other Pack player, sophomore opposite hitter Kendall Harrington (San Antonio, Texas/Tom C. Clark), recorded over 20 kills last weekend as she had 22 kills and hit .269 in four matches. Senior opposite hitter Bailey Combs (Fresno, Calif./Central Oklahoma) was next in kills with 19 on the weekend.

The Pack offense is directed by senior setter Grace Jansen (Sandy, Utah/Jordan) and junior setter Sabrina King (Parker, Colo./Lutheran). Jansen averaged 4.82 assists per set and had double-digit assists in all four matches, including three matches with 20 or more assists and she had 11 aces and 21 digs, while King averaged 3.82 assists per set and added 12 aces and 26 digs in four matches. She posted two double-doubles on the weekend as she had 12 assists and 10 digs against Texas A&M-Kingsville and 23 assists and 10 digs against Ouachita Baptist.

Sophomore middle blocker Golden Finch (Albuquerque, N.M./Cal State-Bakersfield) paced the Pack defense with 16 blocks as she averaged 0.94 blocks per set, while junior middle blocker Josey Nunn (Kingwood, Texas/Porter) added 10 blocks and Van Veen had nine blocks on the weekend. Finch had at least three blocks in all four matches, including recording five blocks against both Tiffin and Texas A&M-Kingsville.

As a team, CSU Pueblo has recorded 196 kills, 220 digs, 30.5 blocks and hitting .194 as a team. In addition, the Pack have recorded 42 aces and are averaging 2.47 aces per set, including recording 15 aces against Ouachita Baptist. CSU Pueblo's opponents are hitting .243 on the season and have recorded 31 blocks and 36 aces.

ABOUT SKYHAWKS INVITATIONAL OPPONENTS
ANGELO STATE (5-0)
The Rambelles come into the weekend sporting a perfect 5-0 record after opening the season by earning four straight-set victories at its own Kathleen Brasfield Invitational and then picking up a 3-0 win on Tuesday at New Mexico Highlands. ASU, who earned 31 votes in this week's latest AVCA Division II Preseason Coaches' Poll, opened the season with a 3-0 win over Southwest (N.M.), before earning 3-0 wins over Henderson State, Huston-Tillotson and UT-Permian Basin. 

Leading the way offensively for the Rambelles, who was picked to finish fifth in the Lone Star Conference Coaches' Poll, is senior outside hitter Hannah Kinnison. Kinnison is averaging 4.21 kills per set and had double-digit kills in four of five matches this season and is hitting .485 on the year. In addition to Kinnison, freshman outside hitter Madi Parrish is averaging 2.21 kills per set  and is second on the team in digs with 38.

Senior setter Laney Dale is averaging 8.23 assists per set and 25 digs, while junior libero Caleigh Enax is averaging 4.23 digs per set and leads the team with seven aces. Senior middle blocker Marina Sanchez is averaging 1.00 blocks per set and has had 11 blocks on the season.

As a team, Angelo State is hitting .329 and are averaging 14.73 kills, 14.20 digs and 1.66 blocks per set and are limiting their opponents to just an .057 hitting percentage.

Friday's match-up will be the 10th all-time meeting between the two teams and the second consecutive season the two teams are facing each other. ASU leads the all-time series 6-3, but the Pack won the most recent meeting in four sets last season in San Angelo, Texas, at the season opening Kathleen Brasfield Invitational.

SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA (3-1)
Southwestern Oklahoma State, who is a member of the Great American Conference, comes into this weekend's action sporting a 3-1 overall record after opening the 2023 season at the Midwestern State Invitational. At the event, the Bulldogs opened with a 3-1 win over the host school, before collecting a five-set win over Eastern New Mexico. SWOSU then picked up a three-set sweep over Western Colorado, before falling in four sets to Central Oklahoma. The 3-1 start to the season is the best for the program since opening 8-1 in 2018.

Leading the way offensively for the Bulldogs is junior outside hitter Lacy Mott, who is averaging 3.94 kills and 3.06 digs per set and is hitting .293 on the year. In addition to Mott, five other Bulldogs have recorded 20 or more kills on the year.

Junior setter Terez Chavez is the quarterback of the Bulldogs offense as she is averaging 4.69 assists and 2.63 digs per set, while freshman libero Jada Permenter is averaging 4.69 digs per set and has also had 22 assists. Junior middle hitter Samantha Kuzma and junior middle hitter Zoey Sparks is averaging 1.19 and 1.06 blocks per set respectively.

As a team, the Bulldogs are hitting .217 and are averaging 12.88 kills, 17.06 digs and 2.31 blocks per set and have recorded 24 aces in four matches. Their opponents are hitting just .145 on the season.

Friday's match-up will be just the sixth all-time against the two schools and first since 2019 when the Pack fell in three sets to the Bulldogs in Joplin, Mo. The Pack leads the all-time series, 3-2.

TEXAS A&M-INTERNATIONAL (4-0)
Texas A&M-International enters the weekend with an unblemished 4-0 record after opening the 2023 season with four victories the UIS Capital City Classic in Springfield, Ill. The Dustdevils opened the season with a back-to-back 3-1 wins over Illinois-Springfield and Arkansas Tech, before posting a five-set win over Missouri Western and a three-set sweep over McKendree.

Leading the way offensively for TAMIU is senior outside hitter Ariana Guerra, who is averaging 3.92 kills and 2.08 digs per set and is hitting .217. In addition to Guerra, senior outside hitter Giulia Hortelan is averaging 2.31 kills and 4.44 digs per game and is hitting .178.

Sophomore setter Emma Lade, who was named the 2023 LSC Preseason Setter of the Year, has gotten off to a strong start this season as she is averaging 10.13 assists and 2.06 digs per set and lead the team with seven aces. Senior libero Lixai Perez paces the defense as she is averaging 6.00 digs per set and senior middle blocker Jasmin Garcia is averaging 17.0 blocks per set.

As a team, Texas A&M-International is hitting .208 as a team and is averaging 11.94 kills, 18.25 digs and 2.31 blocks per set and has had 18 aces, while their opponents are hitting just .131 against the Dustdevils.

Saturday's match-up with Texas A&M-International will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools in volleyball.

EAST CENTRAL (1-3)
East Central, who like Southwestern Oklahoma State is a member of the Great American Conference, enters the weekend with a 1-3 record after playing four matches last weekend at the West Texas A&M Festival. At the event, the Tigers opened with a four-set loss to West Texas A&M, before suffering a three-set loss to Davenport. ECU then fell in four sets to Adams State, before concluding the tournament with a five-set victory over St. Mary's (Texas).

Leading the way offensively for the Tigers are junior outside hitter Odalys Gonzalez and junior outside hitter Emma Strickland. Those two have combined for 105 kills, 71 digs and four aces. Gonzalez is averaging 3.75 kills and 3.00 digs per set and is hitting .191, while Strickland is averaging 3.44 kills per set.

The leaders of the Tigers offense are freshman setter Brooke Sarahina and junior setter Julie Kabala. Sarahina is averaging 4.81 assists and 1.94 digs per set, while Kabala is averaging 3.94 assists per set. Sophomore libero Macey McAmis paces the Tigers defense as she is averaging 3.25 digs per set, while junior middle blocker Ashleigh Miller is averaging 1.00 blocks per set.

As a team, ECU is hitting .112 and are averaging 10.75 kills, 12.63 digs and 1.94 blocks per set and have recorded 16 aces, while their foes are hitting .214 on the year.

Saturday's match-up will be just the third all-time between the two schools and the second straight season the two teams will face each other as the Pack earned a three-set sweep last season at the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational hosted by Angelo State.
The series is tied at 1-1 as ECU won the first-ever meeting in four sets in 2011.

UP NEXT FOR THE PACK
The Pack will return to action next Friday, Sept. 15 as they open Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play with a 6 p.m. MT match in Las Vegas, N.M., against New Mexico Highlands. Following the Highlands match, the Pack will play its first home match of the 2023 season in Massari Arena on Tuesday, Sept. 19 against Adams State.