Midwestern State at Western New Mexico
Sunday, Oct. 16 – 1 p.m.
Drag's Court (Silver City, N.M.)
All-Time Series: WNM leads 5-10
Video | Live Stats
 
SILVER CITY, N.M. -- Western New Mexico (3-14, 2-6 LSC) acts as host when Midwestern State (3-14, 1-8 LSC) comes to Silver City for a Lone Star Conference battle. Both Mustangs teams will face-off on Saturday, Oct. 16 at Drag's Court. First serve is set for 1 p.m.

FIVE STORY LINES

1 |  Lauryn Bourne plays a big impact for the Mustangs, gaining a Lone Star Conference sixth-best 173 kills to lead the team. She averages 2.70 per set, which ranks 18th in the conference. The sophomore's 195.5 total points sits seventh in the LSC with a 3.05 average. Bourne launched 54 attempts at Texas A&M International (9/17) for a season-high and her best performance in kills was in the first match of the season against Colorado Christian (9/03) with 19 put downs. The outside hitter reached 12 service aces, dropping three against No. 18 UT Tyler (10/09). On defense, Bourne is second behind Amy DeWalt with 187 digs (2.92/set) and collected 18 blocks (three solo, 15 assists). In the 2020 season, the Cypress, Texas native notched 148 kills for a 2.85 average and added 3.12 digs per set.
 
 Bria Augustine holds the top hitting spot for Western New Mexico with 175 total put downs. The senior averages 2.87 kills and 3.23 points per set while 15 blocks and 12 service aces.
 
2 |  Lissette Lefforge is top on the blocking front for Midwestern State. The senior registered a Lone Star Conference sixth highest 51 stops to average a conference 16th best 0.84 blocks per set. Lefforge saw eight shutdowns against Seattle Pacific (9/04) as her best performance thus far. The middle blocker notched 141 kills on the season to average a team second-best 2.31 per set. She completed 21 smack downs against Texas Woman's (10/02) for a career-high. Lefforge put up a 0.215 hitting percent for the season and added 11 service aces. In 2020, the Otis, Colo. native had 162 kills and averaged 2.28 pet set with 53 total block stops.
 
 Kayla Judd gives WNM 40 blocks on the season with an average of 0.67 per set. The freshman tallied five solo and 35 block assists along with 1.34 average kills.
 
3|  Autumn Roach holds the ninth highest assists with 342 on the 2021 season. Her average of 5.34 gains a conference rank of 15th. Roach has accumulated nine matches with 20+ assists, with a season-high 38 landed at Texas A&M International (9/17). To add to her stats, the setter has seven aces, gaining two at Texas A&M-Kingsville (9/18). In 2020, she collected 365 helpers (5.14 average) along with 30 service aces. Reagan Willms is Roach's main counterpart in MSU's 6-2 rotation. The freshman owns 225 total assists to average 4.02 per set. Willms leads Midwestern State with 17 service aces, landing five aces against Texas A&M International (9/17) and four versus Eastern New Mexico (9/10).

Hailey Hertzog is the top setter for the Mustangs, gaining 311 thus far. She averages 5.10 sets and leads with 25 service aces.The sophomore owns 43 total points for WNM. 
 
4 |  As a team, Midwestern State has accumulated 2,267 attack attempts in 17 matches while their opponents controlled 2,170. The match at Texas Woman's (10/02) saw the team gather 214 attempts for the high of the season. MSU landed 896 digs versus the opposition's 899. DeWalt possesses 250 passes, gaining 26 at Texas Woman's (10/02) while the team best came at Texas Woman's with 103. In addition, the Mustangs registered 696 assists and 751 kills on the season. On defense, Midwestern State sees 26 blocks, even with the teams they face, and 138 block assists. Together, the Mustangs land 68 aces on the year, serving up nine against No. 18 UT Tyler (10/09). 
 
5 |  The Mustangs currently ride an eight-match losing streak that began after the team's 3-2 win at Texas A&M International (9/17). The last time MSU had a streak that was eight games or longer was in the 2018 season when the squad dropped 13 straight matches. That year, Midwestern State went 5-23 overall for a 0.179 winning percent. The Mustangs gained a 3-17 Lone Star Conference record to land tenth in the conference standings. This was the year before the LSC merged with the Heartland Conference. Western New Mexico has a similar boat, donning two six-match losing streaks throughout the 2021 season. WNM cut the most recent run with a 3-1 defeat of Cameron (10/14). The WNM Mustangs are 1-2 when playing at home while the MSU Mustangs are 1-6 when on the road.
 
 
HEAD COACH VALERIE ARMSTRONG enters her fourth season at the helm of the Midwestern State volleyball program. In the shortened 2020 season, the team amounted a 10-7 overall record, the best winning percentage since 2008. Another feat from last year was the program's first Lone Star Conference postseason win that came against DBU (3/23). Over three seasons, Armstrong has obtained a 26-60 record. Before coming to Midwestern State in 2018, she had experience at all levels of collegiate volleyball. In Division I, Armstrong was assistant coach at Binghamton and Alabama State. She saw time as a head coach at two junior colleges including Vernon College and Colby Community College. Her first coaching job was the assistant at NAIA University of the Southwest in 2007 after graduating from Oklahoma Panhandle State. There she earned OPSU Female Athlete of the Year honors after leading the Aggies with 2.50 kills and 0.47 blocks per set as a senior in 2006.
 
SERIES WITH THE MUSTANGS
 Overall, Midwestern State and Western New Mexico have played to a 10-5 record with WNM taking the advantage. MSU began the series with back-to-back wins in 1988 and 1989. Then WNM took over and gained ten straight victories from 1992 to 2018. The MSU Mustangs turned things around and have taken the last three match-ups. The latest meeting was in the 2020 season when the two teams faced off in the Angelo State Invitational and Midwestern State walked off with a 3-1 defeat. MSU is 2-6 against WNM in conference play and 0-5 when on the road.
  

--MSUMustangs.com--