DURANGO, Colo. – Entering the weekend tied for eighth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings, the Fort Lewis College volleyball team will look to continue their push towards making the RMAC Tournament when they host Black Hills State on Friday at 7 p.m. and then against South Dakota Mines on Saturday at 5 p.m. inside Whalen Gym.
FLC (4-11, 4-7 RMAC) faced a pair of tough RMAC road games this past weekend falling to Regis and Colorado Christian by 3-0 scores. As a team this season, the Skyhawks have 602 kills, 544 assists, 850 digs and 81 total blocks. Individually, Haley Christiansen leads the way in kills with 154, followed by 121 from Bailey Longacre. Kendra Swackenberg dishes out 307 assists, while on defense, Christiansen leads the team with 208, while Megan Graefe is right behind with 197. Longacre and Maddie LeBlanc lead the team in blocks with 27 each, with Tye Wedhorn third with 26.
Last year, FLC hosted both teams inside Whalen Gym on Sep. 15 and 16, with both matches going five sets. Black Hills State won in five, while FLC won in five over South Dakota Mines. In the match against Black Hills State, Laine Waters led the team with 13 kills, followed by 12 from LeBlanc. Longacre sent back five blocks, Swackenberg had 43 assists and Graefe tallied 23 digs. Against South Dakota Mines, Longacre and LeBlanc led the team with 14 kills, Waters sent back two blocks, Swackenberg had 51 assists and also tied for the team lead in digs with 17 along with Graefe.
As a team, FLC ranks sixth in the RMAC in digs per set (16.04), ninth in hitting percentage (.173) and ninth in team attacks per set (36.51). They also rank 10th in blocks per set (1.53). Individually, Christiansen is third in the RMAC and 70th nationally in attacks per set (10.28), Wedhorn is third in the RMAC and 17th nationally in hitting percentage (.392), Graefe is 12th in the RMAC in digs per set (4.10), while Christiansen is 14th in the same category at 3.92. Swackenberg is 15th in the RMAC in assists per set (6.02) and 16th in the conference in total assists (307). Christiansen is 16th in the conference in both kills per set (2.91) and points per set (3.19).
The games this weekend have big RMAC Tournament significance with Fort Lewis, Black Hills State, New Mexico Highlands and Westminster all tied at 4-7 for the eighth spot in the conference. Chadron State is just a half-game back at 3-7 and Adams State is a game back at 3-8.
Black Hills State is 7-11 overall on the season and 4-7 in RMAC play. They've won two of their last three games against South Dakota Mines and Western State. The Yellow Jackets fell this past Saturday at home to Colorado Mesa, 3-0.
As a team, the Yellow Jackets have 717 kills, 664 assists 976 digs and 124.5 total blocks. Jadie DeLange leads the team with 138 kills, followed by 126 from Sierra Stugelmeyer and 103 from Carisa Becerra. Laurel Lech has dished out 515 assists, while on defense, Valerie Blake has 208 digs and Becerra has sent back 46 blocks and Stugelmeyer with 45.
To close the weekend, FLC will host South Dakota Mines on Saturday. The Hardrockers are 4-16 overall and 1-10 in RMAC play, having lost five straight with their last win coming against Dickinson State on Sep. 26. As a team, South Dakota Mines has 774 kills, 729 assists, 1,182 digs and 114 total blocks.
Dana Thomson leads the Hardrockers with 312 kills. Shyann Bastian has 438 assists, while on defense, Tana Dahlberg has 314 digs and Hannah Stevenson has sent back 46 blocks.
Live video and stats will be available for both games.
