WICHITA FALLS, Texas --Midwestern State welcomes Western New Mexico to D.L. Ligon Coliseum for a Friday night Lone Star Conference battle. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.
 

MIDWESTERN STATE (5-18, 3-8) vs. WESTERN NEW MEXICO (2-20, 0-10)

Friday Oct. 21 | 6 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls

Series History | WNMU leads, 12-5

LAST MEETING | Alex Serna had a season-high nine kills on 18 swings and finished with a .389 hitting percentage as Midwestern State halted an 11-set skid but lost in four sets (17-25, 22-25, 26-24, 22-25) to Western New Mexico in the Lone Star Conference Crossover at Kitty Magee Arena in Denton on Sept. 9. Sadie Portmann had 12 kills and 20 digs for the Mustangs. Autumn Roach had 34 assists for MSU. Midwestern enjoyed an eight-point run in the third set, when the Mustangs recorded three of their five blocks during the match. Jazmyne Walker led the WNMU Mustangs with 21 kills, while Bria Augustine was in on six of 12 blocks, including two solo blocks. Walker (24), Augustine (21) and Zoe Chatterton (18) combined for 63 of 76 points won by Western New Mexico.

LAST TIME OUT | Midwestern State's Aaliyah Burras pounded out a career-high 19 kills to lead the Mustangs to a 25-15, 23-25, 25-27, 26-24, 15-13 win over Texas Woman's Wednesday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The senior from New Orleans committed just three errors in 34 total swings to hit team-best .471 to spark the Mustangs to their best team hitting performance of the season. MSU hit .229 with 65 kills and needed each of them to outlast the Pioneers with the final fours decided by a two points and two of those extended beyond 25. The red-hot Burras came out firing in the opening set putting down nine kills as the Mustangs rode the momentum of an 8-1 start to hit .379 as a team with 13 kills to roll to a 25-15 win. MSU hit .324 in the fourth set as Sadie Portmann and Arrianna Fields each had four kills. The Mustangs took advantage of a service error which sparked a three-point run culminating in Portmann's second service ace of the match allowing MSU to extend the match to five sets with a 26-24 win. Portmann finished her eighth double-double of the season finishing with 15 kills and 13 digs, while Fields amassed campaign bests with 10 kills and four total blocks. Freshman Taygon Jones delivered her third performance with at least 30 digs leading back row effort with 30 digs, while sophomore Amy DeWalt added 16. MSU setter Autumn Roach posted 31 assists with a .397 set percentage, while Regan Willms posted 28 assists with a .359 set rate. Anderson tacked on nine kills, while senior Jaylen Hogue enjoyed a season-best output with seven kills while committing just two errors on 18 swings to hit .278.

TRACKING THE MUSTANGS | Midwestern State is 3-2 at home this season and has won its last two matches under the dome at D.L. Ligon Coliseum…MSU is 3-2 when hosting the Mustangs from Silver City, New Mexico…Midwestern State has won its last two encounters with WNMU at D.L. Ligon Coliseum…Stephanie Radecki, who is in her first season at Midwestern State, is 382-258 in 20 years as a head coach… Mustangs are hitting .138 this season, while their opponents are hitting .208…MSU is first in the LSC and fourth in the nation with 39.63 attacks per set…Mustangs are first in the conference and 18th in the nation with 3,329 total attacks…Sadie Portmann is ninth in the conference with 749 total attacks…Portmann is 13th in the LSC with 8.92 attacks per set…MSU is fourth in the conference and 31st in the nation with 17.26 digs per set…Mustangs have 1,450 team digs, which is fifth in the LSC and 34th in the nation…Taygon Jones is second in the LSC and 26th in the nation with 5.16 digs per set…Jones is fourth in the LSC and 37th in the nation with 392 total digs…MSU is eighth in the conference with 11.50 assists per set and seventh in the LSC with 966 team assists…Autumn Roach is ninth in the conference with 6.08 assists per set and eighth in the league with 468 total assists…Regan Willms is 15th in the LSC with 4.73 assists per set and 16th in the conference with 378 total assists…MSU is eighth in the LSC with 12.24 kills per set…Portmann leads MSU with 2.57 kills per set…Aaliyah Burras averages 2.40 kills per set…Kelli Ell averages 1.97 kills per set…Portmann is 16th in the LSC with 216 total kills…Burras has 199 total kills…Ell has 152 total kills…Burras is 15th in the LSC with a .280 hitting percentage…Burras leads MSU with 45 blocks…Taylor Anderson, a fifth-year senior, has 610 career kills and averages 1.73 kills per set at MSU…

SCOUTING WESTERN NEW MEXICO | WNMU Mustangs have won the last two meetings with Midwestern State, and each of the last four meetings have been decided in four sets…WNMU has not won in Wichita Falls since Sept. 22, 2017, when they prevailed in four sets (25-17, 15-25, 25-23, 25-17)…WNMU has an 11-match losing streak overall…Mustangs have lost 16-straight sets since winning a 31-29 set at Oklahoma Christian in a 3-1 loss at the Eagles Nest on Sept. 24…Western New Mexico is 0-6 on the road this season and has lost its last 14 road matches…Mustangs last road victory was a 3-1 win at Eastern New Mexico last season (9/24/21)…WNMU is 16th in the LSC with a hitting percentage of .134 this season, and its opponents are hitting .239, which is 17th in the conference...Jazmyne Walker is fourth in the conference with 10.55 attacks per set and is fifth in the LSC with 823 total attacks…Walker is sixth in the conference with 3.50 kills per set and seventh in the league with 273 total kills…Walker is sixth in the LSC with 3.97 points per set…Madelynn Culp averages 4.90 assists per set and leads the Mustangs with 387 total assists…Janey Cortez is 17th in the LSC with 3.62 digs per set and has 235 total digs this season…Mustangs are 10th in the conference with 1.42 aces per set and 11th in the LSC with 112 total aces…Walker leads the Mustangs with 23 aces…Zoe Chatterton is hitting .218 and has played 79 sets for Western New Mexico…

UP NEXT | Midwestern State wraps up a three-match homestand with a non-conference affair against East Central (Okla.) on Saturday afternoon. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.