DURANGO, Colo. – It's been a long road swing for the Fort Lewis College volleyball team, as they spent the past two weeks traveling east and north in Colorado and then west and north in Utah. The Skyhawks will face New Mexico Highlands first on Friday at 7 p.m. and then against CSU-Pueblo on Saturday at 5 p.m.
FLC enters with a record of 1-9 overall and 1-5 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, but came close in their past two matches in Utah. The first match was against a very tough Dixie State squad and FLC fell in three sets, but were close in all three. The next night, the Skyhawks won set two against Westminster and came close in the final two before the Griffins grabbed the 3-1 victory.
Haley Christiansen has powered the team with 106 kills, averaging 2.94 per set. She also adds a team-best 136 digs, 3.78 per set. Bailey Longacre is second on the team in kills with 79, while Ohiyah Shirley adds 55. Bella Valdez has a team-high 170 assists, while Kendra Swackenberg is right behind with 154. On defense, Megan Graefe adds 112 digs and Longacre has sent back 21 blocks.
This will be the first home matches since MSU Denver played inside Whalen Gym on Sep. 8. New Mexico Highlands won both games last year, 3-1 in Las Vegas and 3-0 in Durango. In 2016, the two teams split with FLC taking the 3-0 win in Durango and the Cowgirls taking the 3-1 win in Las Vegas. They will play each other again on Oct. 27 in Las Vegas.
In the first meeting last year, Emily Dellenbach led the team with 13 kills, while Laine Waters and Maddie LeBlanc added nine kills apiece. Swackenberg had 33 assists, while on defense, Graefe had 19 digs and Waters had seven blocks. In the second meeting, Longacre and Hannah Hargrove led the team with eight kills apiece. Swackenberg had 27 assists, while on defense, Graefe had 12 digs and Longacre had three blocks.
As a team, FLC ranks sixth in the RMAC and 91st nationally in team attacks per set (36.89) and ninth in the RMAC in blocks per set (1.53). Individually, Valdez is second in the RMAC in aces per set (0.35), Christiansen is fifth in the RMAC and 82nd nationally in attacks per set (10.06), she's also 13th in the RMAC in both digs per set (3.78) and kills per set (2.94), while landing in 15th in points per set (3.18). Valdez is 15th in assists per set (5.48) and Graefe is 16th in digs per set (3.61), with Swackenberg checking in 18th in assists per set (4.53).
New Mexico Highlands is 5-10 overall and 3-4 in the RMAC. They post a 2-5 mark away from home in true road games and 2-4 in neutral site contests. They have conference wins against Western State, CSU-Pueblo and South Dakota Mines. This past weekend they fell on the road in a pair of sweeps against Regis and Colorado Christian.
Tiffany Matchett leads the team with 142 kills, followed by 104 from Camryn Nelson and 102 from Cynthia Norris. Celina Naranjo has 263 assists, while on defense Elena Rivera has 238 digs and Matchett adds 203. Stacy Johnson has sent back 32 blocks, with Taley Ferrari adding 30.
To close the weekend, FLC will host CSU-Pueblo. The ThunderWolves are 4-12 overall and 2-5 in the RMAC. They post a 1-5 record away from home and are 2-4 in neutral games. CSU-Pueblo has conference wins against Western State and South Dakota Mines. Last year, the teams played once in Pueblo late in the season and FLC claimed the 3-2 victory. In that match, FLC fought from down 1-2 to win in five sets. LeBlanc led the way with 19 kills and Dellenbach added 18. Swackenberg had 49 assists, Graefe with 44 digs and Waters had 10 blocks. The teams also played a five-setter back in 2016 in Durango with CSU-Pueblo taking the 3-2 victory.
Brooke Schilling leads four ThunderWolves with over 100 kills as she has tallied 157 on the season. Mallorie Post adds 129, Sarah Vang with 115 and Grace Miles with 105. Grace Hern has 354 assists, while on defense, Page Heller has 302 digs and Berkley Hays has 28 blocks and Miles adds 25.
Live video and stats will be available for both games.
