WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State seeks a fourth-straight victory under the dome and looks to extend its overall winning streak to three matches when it hosts East Central (Okla.) in a non-conference battle Saturday afternoon. First serve at D.L. Ligon Coliseum is scheduled for 1 p.m.

 

MIDWESTERN STATE (6-18) vs. EAST CENTRAL (Okla.) (12-14)

Saturday, Oct. 22 | 1 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls

Series History | East Central leads, 3-1

LAST MEETING | Lauryn Bourne had a .296 hitting percentage with a season-high 12 kills and 14 points, but Midwestern State lost three close sets (22-25, 20-25, 27-29) to East Central (Okla.) in their final Denton Volleyfest match at Kitty Magee Arena earlier this season. Taygon Jones finished with 23 digs, and Regan Willms finished with 22 assists for the Mustangs, who hit .130 for the match. Bourne had just four errors on 27 swings.

LAST TIME OUT | Senior Aaliyah Burras led Midwestern State to its third-straight win on its home floor as the Mustangs swept past Western New Mexico at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Friday night, 25-12, 25-13, 25-20. Burras hit .588 with 10 kills on 17 swings without an error, and she was in on five of the Mustangs' seven blocks in the victory. The Mustangs won 15 of the final 16 points in the first set and hit .344 as Burras put down six kills, adding an ace and two blocks in the opening frame. Midwestern State won the final seven points of the second set as freshman Taygon Jones served three aces in the run. The Mustangs won the set despite hitting just .056. After Western New Mexico took an 8-4 lead in the third set, Midwestern State head coach Stephanie Radecki called a time out. The Mustangs won eight of the next 11 points to take a one-point lead, 12-11. Burras had back-to-back kills and worked alongside freshman Arrianna Fields to win a point with a double block during a three-point run as the Mustangs went ahead, 15-13. Fields would record her seventh and final kill, and Jones would serve up her fifth ace during a four-point run to close out the match. MSU hit .303 in the final set and finished the match hitting .265.

TRACKING THE MUSTANGS | Midwestern State is 4-2 at home this season and has won its last three matches under the dome at D.L. Ligon Coliseum…MSU is 1-0 when hosting the TIgers from Ada, Oklahoma…Midwestern State has lost its last two encounters with East Central…Stephanie Radecki, who is in her first season at Midwestern State, is 383-258 in 20 years as a head coach… Mustangs are hitting .141 this season, while their opponents are hitting .203… Entering the weekend: 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 EAST CENTRAL (Okla.) | East Central has a five-match winning streak after sweeping Southern Nazarene on Thursday night…Tigers have won 15-straight sets after dropping the first two sets in a 3-2 victory at Henderson State on Oct. 7…East Central is 3-6 on the road following back-to-back victories away from home…Tigers are 8-5 in the Great American Conference…ECU won its last two non-conference matches…Emma Strickland is sixth in the nation with 367 total kills and is averaging 3.78 kills per set, which is 38th in the nation…Strickland is second in the nation with 1,117 attacks and 17th in the nation with 11.52 attacks per set…ECU is eighth in the nation with 202 total blocks but 67th in the nation with 2.08 blocks per set…Aloni Jordan leads the GAC and is 10th in the nation with 98 total blocks…Jordan is averaging 1.03 block per set… Alejandro Delgado is 10th in the nation with 470 total digs…Delgado is 10th in the nation with 470 total digs and is 14th in the nation with 5.34 digs per set… ECU averages 1.54 aces per set…Tigers have 1,062 assists and average 10.95 assists per set…

UP NEXT | Midwestern State is back on the road and returns to conference play as it visits Texas A&M Kingsville on Friday night. First serve at the Steinke Center is scheduled for 6 p.m.