WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State hosts Bethel College for its home opener on Tuesday night after winning 10 of 12 matches at D.L. Ligon Coliseum last season. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.
The Mustangs (2-5) opened the season by winning two of three matches at the FHSU Tiger Classic, including straight-set victories over Truman State and Regis.
Midwestern State competed in the Mountain Lion Classic in Colorado Springs this past weekend. St. Edward's prevailed in five sets before UCCS defeated the Mustangs, 3-1. On Saturday, Michigan Tech swept MSU, and South Dakota Mines won a tightly contested five-set match to close out the event.
Isabella Dickens is one of six players that has appeared in all 26 sets for the Mustangs and is hitting .342 with more than three kills per set. Dickens has 93.5 points in matches. Remi Madison is second on the team with 73.5 points and is averaging 2.6 kills per set. Midwestern State is hitting .213 as a team through its first seven matches.
Newcomers Macy Scheer, a junior from Golden, Colorado, and Maxime Phesant, a freshman from El Cajon, California, lead the team in assists. Scheer is averaging 6.9 assists per set, and Phesant is responsible for 4.7 assists per set.
Jaiden Wright is second on the team with a hitting percentage of .271 and has 63 blocks through the first seven matches. The senior from Alvarado is also second on the team with 12 blocks. Dickens is leading the Mustangs with 14 blocks this season.
Jenna Redding, Giselle Cazares and Madison are all averaging at least 2.5 digs per set. Redding leads the team with 3.2 digs per set, while Cazares is averaging 2.7 and Madison is averaging 2.5. Redding, Cazares and Savannah Cummings are also leading the team with six service aces. Dickens and Madison have both served up five aces for the Mustangs, who have 35 as a team this season, averaging 1.35 per set.
Midwestern State won its only previous meeting with Bethel College, 3-0, last season in Newton, Kansas. The Mustangs hit .301 in the victory, while the Threshers hit .114. Wright and Dickens each had eight kills. Wright hit .500, and Dickens hit .467 in the victory.
Bethel College (1-6) makes its first appearance at D.L. Ligon Coliseum and has a three-match losing streak following a five-set loss to Midland University in the College of St. Mary Labor Day Classic in Omaha, Nebraska, where the Threshers earned their first win of the season by defeating Saint Francis (Ind.), 3-0.
Bethel is hitting .118, while its opponents are hitting .188. Cameron Offerle has 104.5 points through 27 sets and is averaging 3.3 kills per set. Dalaina Schutte is averaging 7.1 assists for the Threshers. Alayna Vines has 33 blocks and is averaging 1.2 blocks per set. Abby Koontz leads the team with 5.4 digs per set.
Midwestern State travels to Edmond, Oklahoma, to compete in the Lone Star Challenge on Thursday and Friday, when the Mustangs will meet Oklahoma Christian and Texas A&M-Kingsville in a pair of non-conference matches. Both matches are scheduled for 6 p.m. at Payne Athletic Center.
