DENVER, Colo. - The Colorado State University Pueblo Volleyball team begins their road to Sioux Falls tonight, taking on Regis University in the first round of the 2024 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament.

The ThunderWolves come into Tuesday's match with a 16-10 overall record, and a 9-5 record in RMAC play. The Pack are the No. 5 seed in the tournament, and will most likely need to win the conference tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament.

CSU Pueblo comes into the match playing well, winning three out of their last four games. 

Regis comes into the Tuesday night match with a 13-13 overall record, and also have a 9-5 conference record. Regis owns the tiebreaker over the Pack by defeating the ThunderWolves in the regular season finale in Denver. 

The two squads have met two times this season, both resulting in Regis victories. On October 4th in Pueblo, the ThunderWolves had a commanding lead and momentum, but could not hold on, eventually letting Regis steal a game from the Pack.

The Pack and the Rangers met once more in the regular season finale on November 16 in Denver. The ThunderWolves, who have struggled on the road this season, dropped the match in three sets.

CSU Pueblo has struggled on the road this season, sporting a 2-8 record away from Massari Arena. But what is the old saying? It is hard to beat a team three times in one season..

Regis comes into the match sporting a 7-5 home record on the season.

ABOUT THE PACK

CSU Pueblo enters the match led by their 2023 All-American Sadie Scoville (Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove). Scoville has not quite put up the numbers she did one season ago, but that is due in part to injuries that have hindered her junior season. Do not let the numbers fool you. When healthy, Scoville is a menace, and arguably one of the best players in the nation. Scoville leads the ThunderWolves with 235 kills, while hitting .244. Scoville is also one of the best two-way players in the nation, leading the Pack in digs with 203.

Kaitlyn Hall (Colorado Springs, Colo./Falcon) is a superstar in the making, and will take the league by surprise when it is her turn to take the keys from Scoville. Whenever Hall steps in the gym, she is no-doubt the most athletic human in the arena. Hall has 239 kills this season, while hitting .278. 

Freshman Hallie Hewlett (Bountiful, Utah/Bountiful) has done the exact opposite of playing like a freshman. The first-year player from Utah has taken command of the setting position for the Pack with 476 assists. Hewlett's play may get overlooked from award nominators due in part to the time she splits with Sabrina King (Parker, Colo./Lutheran), and Kendall Schmitz (Lee's Summit, Mo./Arkansas Fort Smith), but do not let the numbers fool you, Hewlett is one of the best players in the conference.

Josey Nunn (Kingwood, Texas/Porter), and Golden Finch (Albuquerque, N.M./Cal State Bakersfield) achor the defense for the ThunderWolves, as the two have combined for 105 out of the teams' 173 blocks on the year.

Also anchoring the Pack defense is Scoville, along with Megan Mattingly (Phoenix, Ariz./Gateway). Mattingly has 201 digs on the season, just behind Scoville's 203. The Pack also get good production from their two Libero's Maddox Richtmyre (Surprise, Ariz./Willow Canyon), and Braelyn Woodworth (Gilbert, Ariz./Perry).

The ThunderWolves are led by Head Coach Austin Albers, who is in his sixth season leading the Pack. Albers has taken CSU Pueblo to the RMAC Tournament every season at the helm, including three National Tournaments. He is 93-60 as a Head Coach in his career at CSU Pueblo.