LAWTON, Okla./WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Down to the final three weeks of the regular season, the Western New Mexico University volleyball team has eight vital matches remaining to determine their postseason fate.
Four remain on the road and at home and WNMU faces Cameron and Midwestern State this week. The Lady Mustangs sit seventh in the Lone Star Conference standings with a 6-6 mark and are 14-9 overall. They are just behind a few teams in Texas A&M-Commerce in sixth with a 8-6 mark, Eastern New Mexico in fifth at 7-6 and then Texas A&M-Kingsville and West Texas A&M are tied for third at 9-4. No. 10 Angelo State leads the way at 11-1, followed by Tarleton State's 10-3 mark. The top seed will host the conference tournament Nov. 17-19 with the top eight teams qualifying.
WNMU ranks in the top-five in the LSC in eight categories with their highest mark coming in aces per set in which they rank second in the conference at 1.66. They come in third in the conference in both hitting percentage (.237), good for 30
th nationally and third in blocks per set (2.18), good for 32
nd nationally. The Lady Mustangs are fourth in team total blocks (172.5), team service aces (131) and match win-loss percentage (.609). There are two categories in which WNMU are in fifth including opposition hitting percentage (.187) and kills per set (12.43). As a team, the Lady Mustangs have 172.5 total blocks, while opposing teams have just 126.5.
Individually in the conference, several rank in the top-five. Senior
Shannon Rich (Folsom, CA/Folsom) leads the team in blocks with 89, good for fourth in the conference and 36
th nationally. She is second in the conference and 36
th nationally in blocks per set at 1.13. Rich comes in fifth in hitting percentage at .324. Junior
Melanie Hughes (Riverside, CA/Martin Luther King Jr.) leads the team in service aces with 30, which ranks her fourth in the conference in aces per set (.38). Junior
Ashley Mataele (Laie, HI/Kahuku) leads the team in digs with 349, good for fifth in the conference and is fourth in digs per set at 4.42. Junior
Heather Verrill (Barstow, CA/Barstow ) leads the team in kills with 214 and Hughes leads in assists with 403.
First up on Friday night the Lady Mustangs will play at Cameron with game time set for 5:30 p.m. Central Time. It's been a tough season for the Aggies so far as they are 2-20 overall and 0-13 in the conference. They are currently on a 14-match losing streak.
WNMU swept past Cameron in the earlier meeting in Silver City back on Sep. 23. The Aggies hit .144 as a team and allow a .231 percentage. They have been out blocked heavily this season at 157-84.5. Jenna Gillean leads the offense with 303 kills, while Haleigh McClain-Ward sets the offense with 341 assists. Kylee Quillin has 287 digs while Gillean also leads the team in blocks with 35. They are 0-7 at home this season.
To close the weekend WNMU will play at Midwestern State on Saturday at 2 p.m. Central Time. Midwestern State, also called the Mustangs, are 11-13 this season and 5-8 in the LSC. They are currently holding the eighth and final tournament spot.
They went 2-1 last week collecting wins over Texas A&M-Commerce and UT Permian Basin, but fell to West Texas A&M. They are 6-5 at home this season. WNMU swept Midwestern State as well earlier this season back on Sep. 24.
Midwestern State hits .187 as a team and allows a .190 percentage. Aerielle Edwards leads the team with 245 kills, while Meghan Bettis (226) and Sarah Garfield (208) all have over 200 kills. Kristan Aduddell paces the offense with 690 assists, while on defense Bettis has 203 digs and Addison Semer has 66 blocks.
Live video and stats will be available for only the Cameron match. Live stats will be available for the Midwestern State match.
