THIS WEEK'S MATCHUPS

• The University of Colorado Colorado Springs volleyball team will open their home season this Friday and Saturday for the 2021 UCCS Mountain Lion Classic.  The Mountain Lions will host five teams – Colorado School of Mines, Lubbock Christian University, Texas A&M-International, Washburn University and William Jewell College – and 11 matches on Sept. 10-11.
• UCCS will be in action on Friday against Texas A&M-International at 12:30 p.m., and again Friday night at 7 p.m. against William Jewell College.  The Mountain Lions will close out the weekend on Saturday at 7 p.m. against Lubbock Christian University.
• For more information on the UCCS Mountain Lion Classic, go to https://gomountainlions.com/sports/2021/8/15/2019-uccs-volleyball-classic.aspx.

  
MATCH COVERAGE

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

 
 TICKETS

• General admission tickets will be available each day (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.

  
PARKING

• Fans parking on campus on Friday will need to purchase a parking pass from a kiosk or the Parking app.  Parking is free after 4 p.m. on Friday, and all day Saturday.

UCCS Parking and Transportation Services

 
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. 

  
LAST TIME OUT

• UCCS opened the 2021 season with four matches at the Washburn University Invitational.  The Mountain Lions went 1-3 on the weekend, suffering a 3-1 loss to No. 8 Washburn Friday morning in their first match of the season.
• UCCS bounced back quickly to post a sweep against Minot State University in the afternoon match but fell in both matches on Saturday to William Jewell (L, 1-3) and No. 25 Rockhurst (L, 1-3).
• Outside hitter Hannah Ammerman was tabbed to the Washburn Invitational All-Tournament Team. In four matches, Ammerman tallied 30 kills, six assists, four aces, five block assists, 35 digs, 36.5 points and hit .091 at the net.  Against Minot State on Friday, she hit a solid .385 behind six kills on 13 attempts (one error).  The following day against William Jewell, she put down a season high nine kills and 12 digs.
• The offense was led by Lauryn Shockley's 3.2 kills per sent and .268 hitting percentage.  She added seven aces and dug up 32 attacks while assisting on three blocks.  In Saturday's match against William Jewell, Shockley put down a match high 17 kills and hit .425 on 40 attempts without committing an error.  Julia Geiger chipped in a career high 14 kills and hit .194 at the net, while Ammerman was close to a double-double as she registered nine kills and 12 digs.
• UCCS' 13 aces against Minot State is the second most in program history (14), and the most since Oct. 29, 2004 against Western State.

 
RMAC RECORD/STANDINGS

• UCCS starts the season off with a 1-3 record.  They will open conference play next week at CSU Pueblo on Sept. 14, followed by a home match on Sept. 17 against Regis University.

 
THE SERIES

• Vs. Texas A&M-International: UCCS is 1-0 against the DustDevils of Texas A&M-International.  In their first and last meeting, the Mountain Lions were victorious over TAMI, 3-1, on Sept. 4, 2015 on a neutral site court in Denton, Texas.
• Vs. William Jewell: After Saturday's 3-1 setback to the Cardinals, UCCS is 0-2 against WJC.  Both matches have been played in Topeka, Kan.
• Vs. Lubbock Christian:  The series is tied at 2-2 between UCCS and LCU.  The last time the two squads faced each other was Sept. 7, 2019 in Golden, Colo. (LCU won 3-2).  The Mountain Lions last defeated the Chaps on Sept. 6, 2013 (3-1) in Canyon, Texas.

  
SCOUTING REPORT

• TAMI DustDevils: The DustDevils are looking for their first win of the season as they dropped all four season-opening weekend matches to Alaska-Anchorage (L, 0-3), Central Missouri (L, 0-3), Biola (L, 1-3) and Alaska-Fairbanks (L, 0-3).  Pacing the DustDevils offensive output are Mackenzie Cataling (3.38 kills/set) and Yaretzl Ortiz (3.08 kills/set).  The back row defense is balanced as four DustDevils – Melanie Arenas, Daniela Sandoval, Allison Wade and Catalina are digging up an average of 3.00-3.69 attacks per set.  Maison Kosse quarterbacks the offense from her setter position, averaging nearly 10.00 assists per set (9.45).
• WJC CARDINALS: William Jewell's season started with a 3-1 loss to Northern State at the Washburn Invitational Sept. 3-4 before they racked up three straight 3-1 wins over Cameron, UCCS and Minot State.  Lily Johnson has notched 2.31 kills per set to lead the offense as Hannah Cope and Samantha Thompson have combined for 135 of the Cardinals 173 set assists.
• LCU CHAPS: The Chaps opened their season with a 3-2 loss to St. Mary's before sweeping Oklahoma Christian University and Bentley.  LCU will head to Wayland Baptist tonight before making their way Northwest to Colorado Springs.  At the net, the Chaps are led by Sage Post's 2.25 kills per set and .349 hitting mark.  Teammate Sage Chaine leads the defense at the net with 14 blocks while teammate Hannah Froeschl has 13.  The Chaps have dished up 16 aces while holding their opponents to only seven.

   
HOT TAKES

• Head coach Chrissy Elder is one win away from earning her 100th win at UCCS.  In nine seasons on the sidelines for the Mountain Lions, Elder is 99-111 overall.  In 10 years as a head coach, she owns a 106-134 record.
• Lauryn Shockley is one of the top leaders in the conference in kills per set (third, 3.2), points per set (third, 3.77), total kills (fifth, 48) and attacks per set (sixth, 8.47).  Maren Burkhart has served up the fourth most aces in the RMAC, notching nine through four matches (sixth in aces per set, 0.60).
• As a team, the Mountain Lions are third in the RMAC in aces (34) and aces percent (2.27), and eighth in in hitting percentage (.171), digs (184) and total attacks (492).

 
UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH CHRISSY ELDER

• Chrissy Elder begins 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.
• She is 2-3 all-time against the weekend's opponents.
• Elder coached 10 Mountain Lions who were named to the RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll: Hannah Ammerman, Maren Burkhart, Emily Ettel, Julia Geiger, Jordyn Kinsey, Madison McIntosh, Courtney Rodocker, Josie Russell, Lauryn Shockley and Jenna Szilagyi.  Following the season, Shockley was tabbed to the All-RMAC Second Team.

  
UPCOMING MATCHES

• UCCS will open the 2021 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference season on Tuesday at Colorado State University Pueblo. The Mountain Lions will then return home to play host to Regis University on Friday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. in the annual White Out night.  The first 300 UCCS students to the match will receive a free White Out t-shirt.

SOCIAL
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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.