Midwestern State vs No. 22 Colorado Mesa
Midwestern State Hampton Inn-Vitational
Friday, Sept 10 – 11:30 a.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum (Wichita Falls, Texas)
All-Time Series: Sioux Falls leads 1-0
Video | Live Stats

Midwestern State vs Eastern New Mexico
Midwestern State Hampton Inn-Vitational
Friday, Sept 10 – 4:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum (Wichita Falls, Texas)
Video | Live Stats
 
WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State kills two birds with one stone this week by gaining their home opener and hosting the Hampton Inn-Vitational. The first two matches for the Mustangs go against No. 22 Colorado Mesa at 11:30 a.m. and Eastern New Mexico at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 10. All matches in the two-day tournament will take place in D.L. Ligon Coliseum.

FIVE STORY LINES

1 | Lauryn Bourne is the top attacker for Midwestern State after their first weekend of play. The sophomore totaled 62.5 points on the season thus far to lead the team and go fifth for the Lone Star Conference. She currently averages 3.47 points per set and 3.11 kills per set. The outside hitter has 56 kills to her name, which puts her fourth in the LSC list. Bourne has also been a presence on the defensive side, recording MSU's second-highest number of digs with 36.

2 | It is a block party when Lissette Lefforge and Taylor Anderson are on the net as the two seniors have combined for 39 total blocks. Lefforge leads the Lone Star Conference with 22 blocks (1 solo, 21 assists) and is currently 8th in NCAA Division II. Her 1.22 average is third in the LSC and 49th in DII. Her best performance came versus Seattle Pacific (9/4) when she made eight stops at the net. Anderson notched 17 block assists, fourth best in the LSC and 54th in the nation. Her average is at 0.94, which sits 12th in the conference. As a team, MSU has a Lone Star Conference fourth best 34 blocks.

3|  Though Midwestern State had an impressive 2020 season, the one thing they really excelled at was service aces. The tough serving Mustang racked up 155 aces throughout 74 sets to average 2.09 per set. Their total aces secured the highest rank in NCAA Division II while aces per set topped at 16th. Autmn Roach led MSU with 30 aces on the year to earn first in the conference and eighth in the nation. Kaitlyn Masseth trailed only slightly with 28 to her name to earn second in the conference and 11th nationally. The Mustangs have 17 service aces in 2021 with Lefforge and Madison Becker leading with four apiece. Bourne and Delaney Torres follow at three each.

4 | Colorado Mesa takes on MSU standing at 2-2 after dropping to Southwest Minnesota State and Grand Valley State in the Oredigger Classic. In the tournament, the Mavericks beat University of Sioux Falls and Seattle Pacific. The team had two players selected for the Oredigger Classic All-Tournament team including outside hitter Holly Schmidt and setter Sabrina VanDeList. Schmidt is second on the list with 43 kills, following freshman Sydney Leffler. VanDeList leads the Mavericks with 137 sets so far this season. On the defensive side, Kerstin Layman has tallied the most digs (61) while Ashton Reese tops the team with 15 blocks. Colorado Mesa tallied a 15-1 record in the spring season, which led to them being picked first in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll for 2021. 

5 |  Eastern New Mexico is 0-4 for the start of the 2021 season and were selected 18th in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll. The team has not competed since 2019 after sitting out of the shortened spring season. Senior outside hitter Jasmine Gannon propels the Greyhounds with 2.53 kills per set and leads in 2.93 average digs. Junior setter Rae Sapiga carries 3.57 assists per set and Adriana Puni averages 0.67 blocks. As a team, Eastern New Mexico averages 9.8 kills, 8.6 assists, 1.7 aces and 11.2 digs per set. 

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. Over three season, Armstrong has obtained a 23-51 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 MAVERICKS
This is the first meeting between Midwestern State and Colorado Mesa though they have played similar opponent this year in the Oredigger Classic Tournament. MSU lost to Seattle Pacific 1-3 while CMU won 3-0. University of Sioux Falls beat the Mustangs 3-0 but lost to the Mavericks by the same score.

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 21-18 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 6-9 record. The last two meetings have taken place in Portales, N.M., where ENM showed out on their home turf in 2019 with a 3-2 win and MSU gaining the 3-2 victory in 2018.