Midwestern State vs. Texas Woman's
Friday, Sept. 19, 2014 | 7 p.m.
Kitty Magee Arena | Denton, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (4-5, 0-2); Texas Woman's (5-4, 1-1)
Live Video: None
Live Stats: TWUAthletics.com  
 
Midwestern State vs. Texas A&M-Commerce
Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014 | 7 p.m.
A&M-Commerce Fieldhouse | Commerce, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (4-5, 0-2); Texas A&M-Commerce (2-8, 0-1)
Live Video: None
Live Stats: LionAthletics.com 
 
Midwestern State vs. Texas-Permian Basin
Sunday, Sept. 21, 2014 | 3 p.m.
Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (4-5); Texas-Permian Basin (3-4)
Live Video: MSUMustangs.com  
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com  
 
ON THE FLOOR
Midwestern State tips off a three-match weekend with Lone Star Conference road contests at Texas Woman's and Texas A&M-Commerce before closing the weekend by playing host to Texas-Permian Basin.
 
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
- Texas Woman's came out of a three-match skid by taking wins over Southern Arkansas and Tarleton State.
- Eight of the Pioneers' nine matches have extended beyond a third set.
- Freshman middle blocker Elizabeth Pennington leads the TWU attack averaging 2.46 kills per set, while senior outside hitter Jaqueline Santos (2.31) and sophomore outside hitter Mallory Kuechle (2.22) are also over the 2-kill per set threshold.
- Santos (1.15 bps) and Pennington (1.05 bps) highlight the Pioneers' net play as TWU leads the LSC notching 2.38 blocks per set as a team.
- The defensive-minded Pioneers also rate third in the league with 17.77 digs per set paced by senior libero Morgan Wilson at 5.36 digs per set.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
- Midwestern State meets Texas Woman's for the 40th time on the court Friday night at Kitty Magee Arena.
- TWU leads the all-time series 24-15 including a 14-5 edge in matches played in Denton.
- The Pioneers have won the last six meetings of the series dating back to the 2010 campaign.
- Midwestern's last victory came by a 3-1 margin on Oct. 23, 2010 in Denton.
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS
- Texas A&M-Commerce rides a four-game losing streak into weekend play, but the Lions stretched Dallas Baptist and Ouachita Baptist to five sets the last two times out.
- A&M-Commerce has dropped seven of its last eight with its lone victory coming in a sweep of Colorado-Colorado Springs on Sept. 5.
- LSC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Amy Devault leads the Lions with 3.85 kills per set to rank second in the league.
- Junior outside hitter Veronika Baric is the only other A&M-C player averaging better than two kills per set at 2.29.
- Freshman setter Courtney Tate ranks second in the LSC with 9.23 assists per set.
- Sophomore defensive specialist Ashley Mirales leads back row play with 4.41 digs per set.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
- Midwestern State meets Texas A&M-Commerce for the 31st time on the floor Saturday night at the A&M-Commerce Fieldhouse.
- The Lions lead the all time series 17-13 and hold a slim 8-6 edge in Commerce.
- The teams split the season series in 2013 with A&M-Commerce taking a three-set sweep in Wichita Falls before the Mustangs survived a comeback to take the return match in five.
 
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
- Texas-Permian Basin is off to a hot 3-1 start in Heartland Conference play, but is coming off of a 3-1 setback to Angelo State heading into weekend play.
- The Falcons catch MSU on the backend of a four-match, four-day road swing as UTPB takes on Dallas Baptist on Thursday, Henderson State (Ark.) on Friday and Arkansas-Fort Smith on Saturday before making its way to Wichita Falls.
- Senior outside hitter Ryley Carman leads the Falcon attack with 3.04 kills per set, while junior middle hitter Morgann Davis chips in 2.74 kills per set while hitting an impressive .335.
- Junior defensive specialist Taylor Harmon leads back row efforts with 4.63 digs per set.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
- Midwestern State meets Texas-Permian Basin for the 11th time on the court Sunday afternoon at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
- The Mustangs own an 8-2 edge in the series.
- MSU claimed a 3-1 win over the Falcons in 2013, while UTPB edged the Mustangs 3-2 in 2012 in Abilene.
 
MUSTANGS NOTEBOOK
- Midwestern State has dropped four straight and five of its last six since opening the season with three consecutive wins.
- The Mustangs rank 14th in NCAA Division II and second in the LSC in team digs per set with 18.24.
- Senior libero Casey Fletcher leads the LSC and rates sixth nationally with 6.38 digs per set. She is the third in all of NCAA Division II with 204 total digs.
- Fletcher has recorded at least 20 digs in seven of nine matches this season.
- Senior outside hitter Nicole Marzik notched her team-best fifth double-double of the season with 15 kills and 11 digs Tuesday night against Southern Nazarene.
- Marzik notched double figure kills for the fifth time this season Tuesday against Southern Nazarene.
- Sophomore middle blocker Sarah Garfield has at least four blocks in each of her last three games and matched a season-high with seven the last time out against Southern Nazarene.
- Garfield has solo blocks in seven of nine matches this season.
- Junior outside hitter Hunter Porter recorded a season-high 14 kills while hitting .333 Tuesday at Southern Nazarene.
 
MUSTANGS UNDER VENERA FLORES-STAFFORD
- Venera Flores-Stafford is in her 11th season at the helm at MSU posting a 174-156 record (.527).
- The Mustangs are 68-76 (.472) in Lone Star Conference play during the Flores-Stafford era.
 
UP NEXT
- Midwestern State hits the road to take on Eastern New Mexico Tuesday night in Portales before resuming the Red River Rivalry with Cameron Friday night at Ligon Coliseum.