UPCOMING MATCHES Friday, Nov. 2 at Colorado School of Mines | 7 p.m. | Live Stats | Video

THIS WEEK
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs volleyball team (12-13, 10-7 RMAC) will play their last regular season league match this Friday when they head North to Golden, Colo.  The Mountain Lions close out the regular season against Colorado School of Mines on Friday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.   UCCS enters the weekend in seventh place, while the Orediggers share the lead in the conference with Dixie State University.
 
SCOUTING THE OREDIGGERS
At 21-4 (15-2 RMAC), Colorado School of Mines sits atop the RMAC standings needing a win to secure the top seed in the RMAC Tournament.
 
Mines has a very strong statistical line, as they rank above the top five in the RMAC in almost every category. Their potent offense leads the RMAC in hitting percentage 0.268, kills at 14.26 per set, and assists at 13.51. Oredigger opponents are getting 13.47 digs per set against them due to the high volume of attacks. Additionally, they are a good serving team and have served 1.47 aces per set. Defensively Mines ranks toward the bottom in digs per set with 15.28, and they get blocked more than they block their opposition. 
 
Individuals Abby Tiesman and Taylor Hicken lead an offensive attack for the Orediggers as they place fifth and eighth with hitting percentages of 0.338 and 0.314. Tiesman also get 3.52 kills per set. Mines attack is assisted by the best statistical setter in the league, Drew Stokes, who has 11.72 assists per set. Amanda Donais is the team's best server as she has accounted for 33 service aces which equates to 0.39 per set. On defense, Elle Duis and Tiesman lead the charge. Duis, the team's libero, digs up 4.52 attacks per set, while Tiesman is averaging 0.98 blocks per set.
 
LEADERS IN THE RMAC
As a team the Mountain Lions fall around the middle of the pack in the major categories. UCCS ranks fourth and fifth in a few statistical categories. They sit in fourth on the RMAC leaderboards allowing opposition to dig up 14.33 attacks per set, showing that when their attack is on, they are very efficient. With 13.06 kills per set, they place fifth in the RMAC which is made possible by their 12.18 assists per set. Individually, there are several Mountain Lions ranked among the top 10 in the RMAC this season. Raelynn Edge continues to be on the top setters in the RMAC with a very strong clip of 10.69 assists per set (third). Edge's play has faired nicely for Alyssa Brinton, who is averaging 3.07 kills per set (ninth) and Josie Russell, who is hitting 0.285 (10^th). The team is led defensively by Lauren Brown and Jordyn Kinsey. Kinsey leads the team and ranks in the RMAC's top 10 with 4.21 digs per set (10^th), while Brown is the teams best blocker with 0.87 per set.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Mountain Lions wrapped up last week splitting their matches. They were swept by Colorado Mesa University before getting a sweep of their own over Western State Colorado University. Against CMU, UCCS was held to 29 kills and a .091 hitting mark. The Mountain Lions notched 14 kills in the first and added a 51 side out percentage but were held to five kills and a .032 hitting mark in the second set. Raelynn Edge posted 21 set assists for UCCS and dug up four attacks. Alyssa Brinton paced the offense with seven kills. Aly Morgan, Josie Russell and Taylor Smith each chipped in four kills. Morgan added seven kills while Russell posted two block assists. The Mountain Lions defense was led by Jordyn Kinsey's 10 digs. She added 13 serve receptions and did not commit an error. CMU hit .301 offensively behind 46 kills and added six team blocks. Kasie Gilfert led both teams with 20 kills on 28 attempts (.643 hitting percentage).
 
In Alyssa Brinton's last home RMAC league play match, the Mountain Lions swept Western State to cap off Senior Night. The win marked the Mountain Lions seventh sweep of the season.
Brinton played her final home match by recording a season high 18.5 points. She tallied 15 kills and committed only two errors while hitting at a .464 clip. Brinton hit five kills in each set, including 10 kills on 15 attempts in the first two sets without an error. Defensively she assisted on three blocks and dug up two attacks. Raelynn Edge assisted on 27 kills and served a team high three aces. UCCS finished the match with eight aces, the third most in a match this season.

Aly Morgan and Jordyn Kinsey each posted nine digs. Morgan chipped in two kills, two assists and an ace. The Mountain Lions hit .429 in the first set behind 15 kills and added an astounding 18 kills and a .417 hitting mark in the final set. The Mountaineers were led by Kathleed Kasel with eight kills. UCCS held WSCU to 22 kills and a .060 hitting mark.
 
UP NEXT
UCCS will begin their RMAC post-season journey in the quarterfinal round of the RMAC Tournament.  Stay tuned to www.gomountainlions.com for up-to-date tournament information.