COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Midwestern State is competing in the Mountain Lion Classic at UCCS this week. The Mustangs play four matches at Gallogly Events Center, starting with St. Edward's on Friday at 3 p.m. CDT. MSU battles UCCS on Friday night at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Midwestern State meets Michigan Tech at 12:30 p.m. CDT and plays South Dakota Mines at 5:30 p.m. CDT.

Midwestern State (2-1) opened the season with a 3-0 win over Truman State and also defeated Regis in straight sets last week at the FHSU Tiger Classic. Fort Hays defeated the Mustangs 3-0 in their match at Gross Memorial Coliseum.

Midwestern State has the 17th-best hitting percentage in NCAA Division II volleyball — hitting .302 through its first three matches, led by Isabella Dickens and Jaiden Wright. Dickens has a team-leading 39 kills on 77 attacks and is hitting a conference-leading .468, which is 20th in the nation. Wright has 26 kills on 53 attacks and is hitting .396, which is fifth in the Lone Star Conference.

Dickens is leading the conference and is 19th in the nation with 4.7 points per set. Remi Madison is averaging 3.4 points per set, and Wright is adding 2.9 points per set. 

The Mustangs are eighth among NCAA Division II schools with 14.9 kills per set and sixth in the country with 13.9 assist per set.  Dickens is 12th in the nation and leads the LSC with 4.33 kills per set. Macy Scheer and Maxime Pheasant are both among the top 10 setters in the conference. Scheer is averaging 8.6 assists, which is fifth in the LSC, and Pheasant is ninth in the league with 6.0 assists per set.

Jenna Redding and Giselle Cazares are leading the team in digs. Redding is averaging 3.6 digs per set, and Cazares is averaging 3.3 for the Mustangs.

St. Edward's (2-2)

Midwestern State is 9-12 all-time against the Hilltoppers but have won six of the last eight meetings, including a 3-1 victory at the Recreation and Convocation Center in Austin, Texas, last season. The last time the two schools met at a neutral site, Midwestern State prevailed, 3-1, in Portales, New Mexico, three years ago.

St. Edward's dropped its first two matches at the Bahama Classic in Daytona Beach, Florida, last week, as Missouri Western and Florida Southern College both posted 3-0 wins over the Hilltoppers, who rebounded with back-to-back 3-1 victories over Florida Tech and Embry-Riddle to close out the event.

The Hilltoppers will face Michigan Tech on Friday morning before facing MSU and will tangle with South Dakota Mines and UCCS on Saturday. 

Kelli Fording is third in the LSC with 3.9 kills per set, and Althea Morris is second in the league with 10 assists per set. Carrington James leads the Hilltoppers with a hitting percentage of .298.
 

UCCS (1-3)

Midwestern State will meet the Mountain Lions for the fifth time in the history of the program and is seeking its first win in the all-time series. The last time the teams faced each other, UCCS won 3-0 on its home floor in 2012. MSU has only claimed two of the 14 sets in the history of the series. UCCS won the first meeting in 1997, 3-1, at DU Fieldhouse in Denver. 

Colorado Springs ventured to Golden, Colorado, for the Oredigger Classic last week and won a five-set match against Rockhurst but lost a pair of 3-1 decisions to Flagler and Northern State. Cal Poly Humboldt defeated the Mountain Lions in their final match last week, 3-0.

Colorado Springs is hosting Michigan Tech in the opening match of the event on Thursday night before playing South Dakota Mines and MSU on Friday. 

Payton Tompkins, a junior from Dallas, is averaging 4.6 points per sets and leads the Mountain Lions with 3.8 kills per set. Aubrey Miller leads UCCS with 6.9 assists per set.

UCCS is hitting .225 as a team, and Sydney Hyde is hitting .333 with 36 kills on 75 attacks in 16 sets for the Mountain Lions, who are averaging two blocks per set. Tompkins has six blocks in 16 sets for UCCS. Tompkins also averages 2.6 digs per set. Alysse Marcoso leads the team with 3.4 digs per set.
 

Michigan Tech (2-2)

Midwestern State meets Michigan Tech in volleyball for the first time in program history. 

The Huskies opened the season in the UP North Tournament and dropped their first two matches in five sets to Minnesota Duluth and No. 5-ranked St. Cloud State. Michigan Tech posted back-to-back straight-set wins over Cal State East Bay and Winona State.

The Huskies match with the Mustangs will be their final match of the Mountain Lion Classic.

Michigan Tech is hitting .247 this season, led by Paige Wagner, who is hitting .286 with 30 kills on 70 attacks. Rachel Zurek leads the Huskies with 76.5 points and has 70 kills, hitting .275 through 16 sets. Madelynn Kreider leads the team with 10.4 assists per set. 

Tricia Kennedy leads the Huskies with 14 blocks, while Wagner has recorded 10 blocks. Keeley Nellis leads Michigan Tech with 4.25 digs per set, and the team is averaging 16.3 digs per set.
 

South Dakota Mines (3-1)

Midwestern State is meeting the Hardrockers for just the second time in program history. The two teams clashed eight years ago in Kearney, Nebraska, and South Dakota Mines prevailed in four sets.

South Dakota State hosted the Hardrocker Volleyball Tournament in Rapid City, South Dakota, and won nine consecutive sets with wins over Lake Superior State, Minnesota Crookston and Chadron State before succumbing to Jamestown in the final, 3-1.

Opponents are only hitting .097 against the Hardrockers, who have a hitting percentage of .254, led by Maria Bouman, who is hitting .365 with 32 kills on 63 attacks. Lexi Gledenning leads the team with 3.5 points per set, and is joined by Bouman and Cate Warren, who each average more than three points per set. 

Emily Henderson and Hannah Joseph lead the Hardrockers in assists. Henderson averages 6.0 assists per set and Joseph averages 4.8.

South Dakota Mines averages 2.3 blocks per set, led by Grace Mak, Laney Caskey and Bouman. The trio all average at least one block per set. Caskey, a freshman, is the tallest at 6-1, while Mak is 6-0 and Bouman is 5-11.

Ivy Vindivich leads the team in digs with 52 total digs and 4.3 digs per set. The Hardrockers average 15.5 digs per set.

Midwestern State makes its home debut on Sept. 8 as Bethel College visits D.L. Ligon Coliseum for a 6 p.m. match.