THIS WEEK'S MATCHUPS
Colorado Mesa University and Westminster College will enter Gallogly Events Center to face the University of Colorado Colorado Springs volleyball this Friday and Saturday.  The Mountain Lions will take on the Mavericks on Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. and then the WC Griffins on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 5 p.m.
 
MATCH COVERAGE

• Live Stats: https://gomountainlions.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
• Video: https://rmacnetwork.com/gomountainlions

 
LAST TIME OUT

• UCCS posted a home split this past weekend, besting Western Colorado in five sets before falling to Fort Lewis on Saturday in five. 
• On Friday against the Mountaineers, three Mountain Lions accounted for at least 13 kills.  Lauryn Shockley led both teams with 19 kills and hit .333 at the net while adding eight digs and three blocks.  Camden Strain accounted for the second most kills in the match, 16, and added four aces while Maren Burkart finished the night with 13 kills, one solo block and four block assists.  Steering the offense was Emily Ettel with 55 of UCCS' 64 assists.  Jordyn Kinsey tied with Western's Emily Mangone for a match high 20 digs.
• The following evening against the Skyhawks, UCCS accounted for 54 kills and hit .237 on 139 attempts.  Shockley again led the Mountain Lions with 18 kills on 46 attempts and chipped in nine digs and two blocks.  Ammerman added 13 kills to go with two digs and two blocks.  All three of Burkhart's aces came in the first set as she posted three of the team's five aces.   

 
RMAC RECORD/STANDINGS

• Sitting on top of the RMAC standings is MSU Denver with a perfect 10-0 league record (16-2 overall).
• The Mountain Lions are in a four-way tie for 12^th place with Westminster, Black Hills State University and Chadron State College as all four teams are 2-8 in league matches.

 
THE SERIES

• Vs. Colorado Mesa:  UCCS trails Colorado Mesa in the all-time series since 1989 with an 8-35 record.  The Mountain Lions win over the Mavericks came at CMU in a 3-2 win on Nov. 5, 2016.
• Vs. Westminster: Since 1995, the Mountain Lions are 8-1 all-time against Westminster College, winning the first eight meetings.  UCCS is 5-1 when facing the Griffins at home.

 
SCOUTING REPORT

• CMU Mavericks: Colorado Mesa will enter Gallogly Events Center on a five-match winning streak and wins in eight of their last nine matches.  CMU's only road loss this season has come at top-ranked MSU Denver.
• The Mavericks are third in the league in attack percentage (.254), kills per set (13.7), assists per set (12.9) and blocks per set (2.2).  Defensively, they hold their opponents to a league low .142 hitting mark and a league low 10.5 kills per set.
• Sydney Leffler, this week's RMAC Offensive Player of the Week, is the RMAC leader in kills per set (3.58) and has the third most points in the conference (211.5).  Teammate Sabrina VanDeList earned the RMAC Setter of the Week on Monday and is currently third in the RMAC in assists (10.26).  CMU's staunch defense is led by Tye Wedhorn who is blocking 1.09 attacks per set, the third most in the RMAC, and she is hitting the ball at a .329 clip.  Defending the back line is Kerstin Layman who has dug up the fourth most attacks in the RMAC, averaging 4.52 digs per set.
• WC Griffins: The Griffins are coming off a 3-0 home win over Black Hills State University that snapped a seven-match losing streak.  Westminster begins the weekend owning a 4-15 overall record and they are 1-5 when playing on the road.
• The Griffins are ranked fifth in the league in aces (126, 1.7 per set) and digs (14.9 per set) while hitting the ball at a .159 clip behind 10.9 kills per set.  Individually, WC is led by Lydia Miller with 2.30 kills per set and Avery Alger, who is averaging 1.5 kills per set behind a solid .311 hitting mark.  Setter Bri Mortensen ranks ninth in the league with 7.12 assists per set.  Defensively, the Griffins are paced by Malinda Messner's 41 blocks and Alanna Lee's 3.73 digs per set.

 
HOT TAKES

• The Mountain Lions went to five sets in back-to-back matches this past weekend.  UCCS has had seven five-set matches this season, six of which have come at home.  The Mountain Lions are 3-4 in five set matches.  In four of the seven matches, the Mountain Lions have won the first two sets of the match.
• Kinsey is currently sixth in digs in the career record books.  Kinsey has accounted for 1,273 digs in four seasons, and is 133 digs shy of fifth place, held by Kim Catlett (2012-15, 1,406 digs).  She needs 538 digs to become the all-time leader at UCCS, currently owned by Andrea Weedman (2004-07) with 1,811 career digs.
• Kinsey's 223 total digs this season are the 14^th most in the RMAC and her 3.23 digs per set rank 17^th overall.
• Shockley is ranked in the top half in the league in kills per set (fourth, 3.35), total kills (second, 231), attacks per set (sixth, 8.54), total attacks (sixth, 589) and points per set (sixth, 3.72).
• UCCS is in the top half of the league in several categories, including hitting percentage (sixth, .204), kills (fifth, 844) and kills per set (fifth, 12.23).

 
UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH CHRISSY ELDER

• Chrissy Elder is in her ninth season as the Head Coach for the University of Colorado Colorado Springs volleyball program in 2021 after seven consecutive RMAC Tournament appearances for the Mountain Lions.
• Elder won her 100^th match as head coach of the Mountain Lions, accomplishing the feat in a 3-2 home win over Texas A&M International on Friday, Sept. 10.  In nine seasons at UCCS, Elder owns a 103-120 record (.462), and she has a head coaching career record of 110-143 (.435) over 10 seasons.

 
ADMISSION AT UCCS HOME MATCHES

• General admission tickets will be available one hour before game time (cash only).
• Ticket Prices:
  • Adults: $10
  • Non-UCCS students (with student ID), children ages 13-17: $5
  • Military members, seniors (age 55+): $3
  • UCCS faculty, staff, students (with ID), children ages 0-12, UCCS Alumni Association members: Free
  • Masks are required at all times indoors.

 
FACE COVERINGS

• Per campus policy, all students, faculty, staff and visitors on the UCCS campus are REQUIRED to wear a face covering while indoors, regardless of vaccination status.

 
UPCOMING MATCHES

• The Mountain Lions will travel to Chadron, Neb. on Oct. 29 to take on Chadron State College at 6 p.m.  They will then head South to Golden, Colo. to face Colorado School of Mines on Oct. 30 at 5 p.m.

 
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 16 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.