Midwestern State vs Eastern New Mexico
Saturday, Oct. 23 – 12 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum (Wichita Falls, Texas)
All-Time Series: ENM leads 21-19
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WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- D.L. Ligon Coliseum hosts the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds (3-15, 3-7 LSC) for the second time this season on Saturday, Oct. 23. Midwestern State (3-16, 1-10 LSC) took home the first match of the season and will look to repeat the feat in the Lone Star Conference battle. First serve is set for noon in Wichita Falls, Texas.
 

FIVE STORY LINES

1 |   Autumn Roach holds the eighth highest assists with 383 on the 2021 season. Her average of 5.39 gains a conference rank of 12th. Roach has accumulated ten 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. 

2 |  Regan Willms is Roach's main counterpart in MSU's setting rotation. The freshman owns 252 total assists to average 4.06 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).
 
3|  Amy DeWalt's 270 passes earns her a ninth place rank in the Lone Star Conference while her average of 3.86 puts the freshman in 15th place. She notched a season-high 26 digs at Texas Woman's (10/02). In 67 sets, DeWalt tallies a 0.954 receive percent from the back line of defense. In addition, the defensive specialist is third on the team's list with 57 assists. The San Antonio, Texas, native collected five service aces on the season, grabbing one in back-to-back matches against Sioux Falls (9/04) and Seattle Pacific (9/04) and again versus Texas A&M International (9/17) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (9/18).

4 |  As a team, Midwestern State has accumulated 2,507 attack attempts in 19 matches while their opponents controlled 2,414. The match at Texas Woman's (10/02) saw the team gather 214 attempts for the high of the season. MSU landed 979 digs with the team best coming at Texas Woman's with 103. In addition, the Mustangs registered 753 assists and 812 kills on the season. On defense, Midwestern State sees 32 solo blocks and 148 block assists to total 106. 11 stops on the net against Arkansas Tech (9/11) stands the highest for MSU. Together, the Mustangs land 71 aces on the year, serving up nine against No. 18 UT Tyler (10/09). 
 
5 |  The Mustangs currently ride a ten-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 nine 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. West Texas A&M posts a eight-match win streak that started on Sept. 18. The Lady Buffs are 3-2 when on the road while the Mustangs are 2-5 at home.
 
 
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 GREYHOUNDS
With being Lone Star Conference foes, Midwestern State and Eastern New Mexico have a long history dating back to 1988. Overall, the Greyhounds have a slight advantage in the series going 21-19 while the two teams have battled to go 15-14 in Lone Star Conference play with the Mustangs ahead. When MSU is on their home court, they have registered a 7-9 record. The last meeting was on Sept. 10 as part of the Midwestern State Hampton Inn-Vitational where MSU walked away with a 3-0 defeat. Lauryn Bourne attacked 13 kills and Kaitylnn Stoker turned up 11.