SILVER CITY, N.M. – Senior day will take place this Saturday night for the Western New Mexico University volleyball team and they will be tasked with facing the top two teams in the Lone Star Conference in Tarleton State Friday and regular season champion Angelo State on Saturday, both matches will start at 5 p.m.

The Lady Mustangs will recognize four seniors on Saturday in Kelsie Bailey (Albuquerque, NM/El Dorado), Shannon Rich (Folsom, CA/Folsom), Taimane Passi (Honolulu, HI/Iolani) and Kelsey Marks (Cave Creek, AZ/Cactus Shadow). Below is a recap of what each senior has done so far this season.

Bailey has played in 32 sets this season and a total of 16 matches, with one start. She compiled two assists, four service aces and 29 digs. She tallied a season-high four sets played against Eastern New Mexico, five digs twice against CSU Dominguez Hills and Eastern New Mexico.

Rich has put together another outstanding season playing in all 105 sets, leading the team in blocks with 123, second in kills with 213, along with 13 assists, nine service aces, 38 digs and accounting for 290.5 points. She leads the Lone Star Conference in blocks per set (1.15), good for 26th nationally, fourth in total blocks, 22nd nationally and fifth in hitting percentage (.314). This season Rich has posted double-digit kills nine times with a high of 16 coming in the match against Texas A&M-Kingsville in which she hit .737. She added a six dig performance versus Westminster, a nine block match against Westminster, as she has gone for at least five blocks in 12 matches. Rich came away with a high in points with 20.5 versus Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Passi has seen action in 21 sets and a total of 13 matches this year. She has tallied three kills, two service aces and 12 digs. Passi came away with a high in kills with two against West Texas A&M and five digs against Cameron.

Marks has played in 47 sets and a total of 24 matches this year. She has four assists, five service aces and 43 digs. She recorded a season-best two assists against UT Permian Basin and five digs three times versus Texas Woman's (twice) and Cameron.

All four players spent their entire careers at WNMU, with Rich being the only listed senior, while Bailey, Passi and Marks all redshirted to start their careers and are redshirt juniors.

WNMU (16-13, 8-10 LSC) will look to get back on the winning ledger after three tough 3-1 setbacks. The Lady Mustangs are currently seventh in the conference standings and have already clinched their spot to play in the conference tournament that will take place next Thursday through Saturday hosted by Angelo State. The Lady Mustangs could possible move to the sixth seed, but will finish no worse than seventh.

Category leaders for the team heading into the last two matches of the regular season are junior Heather Verrill (Barstow, CA/Barstow ) in kills (291), junior Melanie Hughes (Riverside, CA/Martin Luther King Jr.) in assists (544) and service aces (35), junior Ashley Mataele (Laie, HI/Kahuku) in digs (583) and Rich in blocks (123). Rich is also second in kills with 213, followed by junior Samantha Haupeakui (San Mateo, CA/Aragon)'s 194. Haupeakui is second in blocks with 92, followed by 85 from Verrill.

In the conference, WNMU ranks in the top-five coming in fifth in opposition hitting percentage (.189) and fourth and 27^th nationally in team total blocks (223.5). Individually, Rich ranks high in three categories coming in first in the conference and 26^th nationally in blocks per set (1.15), fourth and 22^nd nationally in total blocks and fifth in hitting percentage (.314). Mataele is second in the conference and 67^th nationally in total digs and third in digs per set (4.70).

The final home matches certainly won't be easy, as first up will be Tarleton State on Friday. The TexAnns are second in the conference standings with a 14-4 conference mark and 22-5 overall record. They are currently receiving votes in the latest AVCA Poll and are seeded third in the latest NCAA South Central rankings.

Tarleton State is 6-3 away from home and are on a four-match winning streak. The offense continues to run through All-American Hailey Roberts as she has 501 kills so far this season, averaging 5.39 kills per set. Hannah McManus (187) and Autumn Taylor (180) are next on the list. Jordyn Keamo sets the offense accounting for 1,051 assists as the team has 1,227 total on the year. On defense, Adrianna Knutson has 430 digs, followed by 299 from Roberts. McManus has sent back 89 blocks. The TexAnns swept the earlier meeting with WNMU back on Oct. 15 in Stephenville.

The weekend will close with a senior day match against LSC regular season champion Angelo State. The Belles are currently ranked 10^th in the latest AVCA Poll and are the top seed in the NCAA South Central Region. They boast a 27-2 overall mark and 17-1 record in the LSC with their only conference loss coming on the road in a five-set match at West Texas A&M. Angelo State is 9-1 away from home in true road contests and have won 14 straight matches.

The offense features scoring from four players, led by Mallory Blauser's 415 kills. Brianna Sotello adds 284, Abbie Lynn with 226 and Morgan Seaton adds 198. Meghan Parker has dished out 1,088 assists. On defense, Mallory Davidson has 357 digs and Seaton has sent back 90 blocks.

Live video and stats will be available for both matches.