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Volleyball vs. Western Colorado - Sept. 14

Volleyball gears up for first conference road trip, heads to Chadron and No. 21 Mines

9/22/2022 5:00:00 PM

By: Angela Roberts, Assistant AD - Communications
DURANGO, Colo. – After a week filled with home matches and ranked foes, the Fort Lewis College volleyball team hits the road for a four-match road stand with showdowns versus Chadron State College and No. 21 Colorado School of Mines on deck this Friday and Saturday.

Last Time Out
The Skyhawks were battle tested last week at home, playing in a trio of matches versus Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foes. Up first, the squad opened the homestand against No. 4 MSU Denver. The teams went to four sets, but the match fell into the hands of the visiting Roadrunners. The four-setter was the first matchup that went to four since a 3-1 loss on Sept. 8, 2018.

Fort Lewis responded on Tuesday with a 3-1 win over Western Colorado University—earning the first home dub of the season. Sophomore Alexis Hobie and junior Lauren Shea led the team with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Hobie was also the team's leader in digs with 14, followed by senior Kamryn Lopez at 11. The Skyhawks hit .184 for the match with 55 digs and four service aces.

The team capped off the week with a match against No. 20 Regis University—one of the hottest teams in the league this season. In front of a rocking home crowd, the Skyhawks earned the opening set in 25-23 fashion before dropping the following two. Backs against the wall, the home team clawed its way to a 25-23 fourth set victory to send the match to five. The Skyhawks led 8-7 as teams switched sides, but a key scoring run for Regis closed it out in 15-9 fashion. Hobie had 17 kills while sophomore Natalia Lambos dished out 32 assists.

Scouting Chadron State College
The Eagles are 5-8 on the year and 3-1 in RMAC play. The team has topped NMHU (3-1), BHSU (3-2), and South Dakota Mines (3-2) to start the conference portion of the schedule. Chadron is hitting .152 this season and averages 10.1 kills per set. The team's top category comes from the backcourt where the group averages 15.2 digs per set and 1.9 blocks per set. Offense is spread across all areas of the net as five players are averaging over one kills per set. Bella Adams leads the was with 1.94 kills per set on a .275 clip.

Scouting No. 21 Colorado School of Mines
The Orediggers are 8-4 overall and 3-1 in league play, winning the last three matches over Westminster, South Dakota Mines, and BHSU. Mines has earned three ranked wins this season and sits at No. 21 in the latest AVCA Division II Poll. The team is hitting .259 this season while holding the opposition to a .205 mark. Mines leads the conference in assists per set (14.21), kills per set (15.16), and ranks third in digs per set (16.63). Rose Stuewe and Shannon Perna lead the team at 3.21 and 3.16 kills per set, respectively. Drew Stokes leads the conference in assists per set at 12.09. Also topping the RMAC ranks is Elle Duis with a career-best 4.86 digs per set.

Numbers on the Road
Fort Lewis is 2-1 on the road this season, picking up wins over Western New Mexico and New Mexico Highlands. The team hit a season-high .333 in the win over WNMU to mark a season-high. Their .208 road hitting percentage is significantly better than their season-average of .150. They are averaging 12.45 digs per set on the road to go along with a 2.9 blocks per set mark. Fort Lewis has eight regular season road matches remaining on the schedule.

Balance is Key
While the team relies heavily on the offensive output of Hobie on the pin, her success would not be possible without the efforts of the four additional attackers surrounding her. Shea has pressured the opposing block schemes with her consistency at opposite where she's averaging 1.93 kills per set. Junior JJ Curry has established herself on the outside and earns 1.85 kills per set. The duo of senior Rylee Johnson and freshman Ella Butler in the middle has added dimension to the offense while forcing the block to hold true.

Around the RMAC
The conference has four teams ranked in the AVCA Division II Coaches Poll, released Monday. MSU Denver leads the way at No. 2, moving up two spots after the top two in the previous poll dropped matches over the weekend. From there, it's a cluster of Colorado programs from No. 19-21. It is Regis, Colorado Mesa, and Mines that team up to hold down the bottom portion of the poll. Receiving votes is CSU Pueblo for the second-consecutive week.

Up Next
Fort Lewis will remain on the road next week to face No. 20 Colorado Mesa University and Westminster College for a Friday/Saturday slate. 
 
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