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Senior Rylee Johnson cuts through the opposing Mines block

Volleyball remains on the road, faces No. 21 Mavericks and Griffins

9/29/2022 4:00:00 PM

By: Angela Roberts, Assistant AD - Communications
DURANGO, Colo. – The Fort Lewis College volleyball team remains on the road this week, taking on No. 21 Colorado Mesa University on Friday before wrapping up the trip against Westminster College on Saturday.

Last Time Out
The Skyhawks began their road swing last week, taking on Chadron State College and No. 21 Colorado School of Mines in RMAC action. The team fell short of the reverse sweep in the Chadron match, falling by a 15-4 score in the deciding set. The Skyhawks hit .132 for the match compared to a .173 clip for the Eagles. The difference maker came on the defensive front where Chadron compiled a staggering 18 blocks versus four for Fort Lewis. Senior Rylee Johnson was one shy of a career-high with 15 kills on a .429 efficiency. Junior Lauren Shea and sophomore Alexis Hobie followed with 11 kills apiece. Senior Kamryn Lopez had a season-high 32 digs—two short of tying a career mark. Shea followed with a season-high 19 digs while senior Joviana Romero and sophomore Jade Martinez high double-figures at 11 and 10, respectively.

Fort Lewis went on to drop a straight-set match to Mines the following night. The offensive woes continued for the Skyhawks who hit just .150 for the match with 16 attacking errors. The Orediggers, who average a .264 efficiency on the year, hit .330 in the three-setter. Mines showed off defensively as well, totaling 56 digs (18.7/set) on the night compared to 40 for Fort Lewis. Hobie led the team with 10 kills on 34 swings, followed by senior Johnson at six kills out of the middle. Lopez led the squad with nine digs to go along with three assists at the libero position. Coordinating the offense was Jade Martinez who earned her first career start and dished out 23 assists.

Scouting No. 21 Colorado Mesa University
The Mavericks are coming off a hard-fought weekend in which the team came away with a 1-1 record. On Friday, the Mavericks dropped a 25-23, 27-25, 26-24 decision to No. 2 MSU Denver.  They then bounced back to take down Colorado Christian, 25-22, 25-22, 25-23. The team is ranked in the AVCA Division II Coaches' Poll for the fifth consecutive week, dropping one spot to No. 21 after the split.

Mesa runs a balanced, consistent effort among all major statistical categories. The team is hitting at a .217 clip to rank sixth in the league. Mesa's defense gets the better of the opposition, ranking second in opponent hitting percentage at .131 while averaging 2.17 blocks and 14.63 digs per set.

Sierra Hunt leads the team with 3.35 kills per set, followed by a trio who earn over two kills per set. The team's most efficient outlet is Savannah Spitzer who swings at a .406 mark to pace the league. Maintaining the setting duties is Sabrina VanDeList at 11.05 assists per set to rank second in the conference. Averaging 4.98 digs per set is libero Kerstin Layman, followed by VanDeList at 2.51. Tye Wedhorn, a former Skyhawk, is the leader at the net with 1.0 blocks per set.

Fort Lewis is 3-13 all-time versus Mesa. The team dropped a 3-0 match to the Mavericks last season and has not captured a set from Mesa since a 3-2 win on October 20, 2018. Hobie notched five kills in last season's meeting and Lopez came away with eight digs.

Scouting Westminster College
The Griffins were on the losing end of two sweeps last week to No. 2 MSU Denver and Colorado Christian. The team is now 4-10 overall and 2-4 in RMAC play. Eight of the losses have come in three sets.
The Griffins are hitting .152 collectively while averaging 10.9 kills per set. Westminster totals 14.0 digs per set and outplays its opponents at the net with 1.7 blocks per set.

Lydia Markinson leads the team with 3.32 kills per set in 412 attempts—over 100 more than the next closest player. Malinda Messner and Mailei Myers follow with 2.38 and 2.26 kills per set, respectively. Leila Cornejo has picked up setting duties and averages 7.17 assists per set. Defensively, it's Alanna Lee who paces the team at 3.59 digs per set.

Fort Lewis trails the series 5-6, dropping last season's matchup in five sets on the road. Prior to the loss the Skyhawks took three matches in a row. Hobie and Lambos led the team with 21 and 18 kills, respectively, in the loss. Lopez tallied 20 digs and four aces to lead the way.

Numbers on the Road
Fort Lewis is 2-3 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 .205 road hitting percentage is significantly better than their season-average of .147. They are averaging 14.36 digs per set on the road to go along with a 1.5 blocks per set mark. Fort Lewis has six 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 1.94 kills per set. Junior JJ Curry has established herself on the outside and earns 1.74 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, maintaining position after sweeping the competition last weekend. From there, it's a cluster of Colorado programs from No. 17-23. 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 third-consecutive week.

Up Next
Fort Lewis will be back home next week with a Friday/Saturday slate versus (RV) CSU Pueblo and UCCS. 
 
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