Match 22 – Midwestern State (5-16, 0-7 LSC) at West Texas A&M (8-10, 1-6 LSC)
Friday, Oct. 16, 2015 | 6 p.m.
WTAMU Fieldhouse | Canyon, Texas
Live Stats: GoBuffsGo.com
Live Video: GoBuffsGo.com

Match 23 – Midwestern State (5-16, 0-7 LSC) at Eastern New Mexico (7-11, 1-6 LSC)
Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015 | 2 p.m. (CT)
Greyhound Arena | Portales, N.M.
Live Stats: GoEasternAthletics.com
Live Video: GoEasternAthletics.com
 

FOR STARTERS
Midwestern State continues Lone Star Conference play on the road this weekend with trips to West Texas A&M and Eastern New Mexico. The Mustangs will first look to avenge a 3-2 defeat last month to the Lady Buffs with a 6 p.m. Highway 287 Challenge contest Friday at the WTAMU Fieldhouse in Canyon. Midwestern will then face the Greyhounds for the first time this season Saturday at 2 p.m. at Greyhound Arena in Portales.

The Mustangs went 1-2 last week with a 3-2 non-conference home victory over Southern Nazarene (Okla.) before suffering defeats to LSC leaders Angelo State (3-0) and Tarleton State (3-1) on the road.

Senior outside hitter Hunter Porter led the Mustangs in kills in two matches on the week including a career-best 16 in a win over the Crimson Storm. Defensively, freshman libero Matti Dix finished one dig shy of her career high with 31 against SNU while also leading the defensive efforts against Angelo State and Tarleton State to average 6.00 digs per set. 

SCOUTING THE LADY BUFFS
– West Texas A&M is 8-10 on the season with a 1-6 record in LSC action
– The Lady Buffs' lone win in conference play came in a 3-2 comeback victory over the Mustangs back on Sept. 29 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum
– While WT has struggled away from home this season, the Lady Buffs are 6-4 at WTAMU Fieldhouse, having won three of their last four matches
– WT has been one of the best blocking teams in the country this season, ranking 28th with 150 total blocks and 37th with 2.21 blocks per set
– Freshman outside hitter Courtnee Curl leads the WT offense with 179 kills for 2.84 per set this season
– Junior middle blocker Cori Haley (2.41 kills/set) and senior middle blocker Lexi Davis (2.22 kills/set) join Curl in creating a balanced attack for the Lady Buffs
– Junior setter Jessica Jackson is averaging 8.66 assists per set while leading the team with 16 service aces
– On the defensive end, junior libero Lauren Britten is averaging 3.34 digs per set
– Head coach Jason Skoch is in his seventh season with the Lady Buffs volleyball program, compiling a 208-40 record in that span
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– West Texas A&M is a perfect 30-0 against Midwestern State in a series dating back to 1996
– WT erased a 2-0 deficit to earn a 3-2 win over the Mustangs last month at Ligon Coliseum
– The Lady Buffs are 13-0 against the Mustangs at the WTAMU Fieldhouse
 
SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS
– Eastern New Mexico is 7-11 this season, also sporting a 1-6 record in the LSC
– The Greyhounds defeated rival West Texas A&M, 3-1, at home for their lone league victory
– Junior right side hitter Lauren Frye leads the Greyhounds with 270 kills for 3.91 per set while hitting a team-best .265
– Frye ranks in the top 30 nationally in kills and top 40 in kills per set
– Sophomore setter Alexis Aguirre is averaging 6.97 assists per set to pace the ENMU offense while sophomore libero Andrea Aguilar has totaled 479 digs (4.57/set) to lead the defense
– Head coach Sia Poyer is in his third season with the Greyhounds with a 28-49 career record
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Midwestern State is 14-16 all-time against Eastern New Mexico with the Greyhounds holding a 7-6 advantage in Portales
– The two teams split last season with ENMU earning a 3-2 win in Portales before the Mustangs collected a 3-0 sweep in Wichita Falls
– Midwestern last recorded a win in Portales during the 2013 season with a 3-1 victory on Oct. 19
 
RAWSON ERA BEGINS
– Former Midwestern State assistant coach Natalie Rawson was tabbed the eighth head volleyball coach in program history back on Mar. 24, 2015
– Rawson spent the last two seasons as the head coach at Newman (Kan.), leading the Jets to a 30-26 record and their first Heartland Conference postseason appearance in four years in 2014
– Rawson spent three seasons as an assistant coach at MSU from 2010-12
 
MUSTANGS SPORT YOUTHFUL ROSTER IN 2015
– Rawson returns to a young roster in her first season back at Midwestern
– The Mustangs' roster features nine newcomers with eight true freshmen and one junior college transfer on the 17-player roster
– Midwestern's roster includes one lone senior and just four upperclassmen
– With a couple of injuries to the Mustangs upperclassmen, the newcomers have seen a considerable amount of court time this season
– The Mustangs have started at least three freshmen in all but three matches this season with five appearing in the starting lineup against Lubbock Christian (Sept. 26), Texas A&M-Commerce (Oct. 3), Dallas Baptist (Oct. 3), Angelo State (Oct. 9) and Tarleton State (Oct. 10)
 
ACE YOUR FACE
– Junior defensive specialist Madelyn Johnson has helped bring some momentum to the Mustangs with her play at the service line this season
– Through 79 sets, the Alvin native is fourth in the LSC and 30th nationally with 30 aces on the season
 
PORTER PACING MUSTANGS
– Following a career-high 16 kills in Midwestern State's win over Southern Nazarene, senior outside hitter Hunter Porter became the Mustangs' kills leader with 182 on the season
– Porter is averaging 2.49 kills per set on a .147 hitting percentage in 73 sets
– In her first season playing for the Mustangs in 2014, the Red Oak native tallied a team-best 2.48 kills per set for 223 on the year
 
DIX CLIMBING RECORD BOOKS
– Freshman libero Matti Dix has recorded six 20-plus dig performances this season with a career-best 32 coming against West Texas A&M back on Sept. 29
– Dix also had a 31-dig outing come in a win over Southern Nazarene on Oct. 6
– With 348 digs currently to her name, Dix looks to be on her way to climbing inside the top 10 for number of digs in a single season in the Midwestern State record books, needing just 146 more to reach the mark of 494 set by Kelli Ridenhour in 1994
– Dix could become the first freshman to appear on the single-season digs top 10 list since Shay Velasquez recorded 572 in her freshman season back in 2005
 
DISHING IT OUT
– True freshman setter Hayden Blair has had to adjust to the college game pretty quickly, appearing in 78 sets and making 20 starts to lead the Mustangs offense
– The McKinney product has posted a season-best 41 assists three times in wins over Pace (N.Y.), Southwestern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene (Okla.) and has totaled a team-best 10 double-doubles
 
LOOKING AHEAD
– Midwestern State begins a three-match homestand Friday at 7 p.m. against Texas A&M-Kingsville at D.L. Ligon Coliseum