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Lauren Shea
Kaitlyn Silva
Senior Lauren Shea has had double-digit kills in three of her last four matches at a .340 efficiency

Volleyball begins week with road contest, returns to Whalen for Homecoming

10/9/2023 4:57:00 PM

By: Angela Roberts, Assistant AD - Communications
DURANGO, Colo. – Skyhawks volleyball will play a pair of matches this week, starting with a Tuesday road contest against Western Colorado University before returning home to celebrate Homecoming on Saturday versus New Mexico Highlands.

Last Time Out
Fort Lewis began the home series with an impressive sweep over Black Hills State. The Skyhawks hit at a .348 clip which is the best mark for a Skyhawks team since 2017. In addition to the impressive hitting efficiency for the Skyhawks, they held the Yellow Jackets to a .031 mark on the night. Fort Lewis dominated from the service line with 10 aces compared to just two for Black Hills State. The Skyhawks edged out the Yellow Jackets in blocks (10-6), assists (37-23), and digs (45-29).

Junior setter Natalia Lambos ran a balanced offense and earned 29 assists to go along with nine digs. Senior JJ Curry led the team with nine kills. Junior Alexis Hobie and sophomore Ella Butler each had seven kills on 15 swings. Butler led all players with a season-high eight blocks. Freshman Jordyn Romano recorded six kills on a season-best .625 efficiency. Junior Sarah Wilkey led the team with 15 digs and was errorless on serve receive.

The following night, the Skyhawks were topped in four sets by South Dakota Mines. Despite outhitting their opponent in sets two and three, Fort Lewis was outhit for the match at a .238 to .167 difference. Senior Lauren Shea led the team with 13 kills on 24 attempts, followed by junior JJ Curry who contributed 10 kills to go along with seven digs. Sophomore Ella Butler had another efficient match with nine kills on 15 errorless swings. Junior Natalia Lambos dished out 36 assists and came away with eight digs. Junior Sarah Wilkey led the team with nine digs.

Scouting Western Colorado
The Mountaineers are 3-13 this season and 1-5 in conference play following a five set win over Black Hills State last week. The team is hitting at a .148 clip compared to a .242 mark for their opponents. Maggie Olson leads the team with 3.02 kills per set, followed by Seyun Park who averages 2.54 kills per set on a .346 efficiency. Nur Turkmenoglu coordinated the offense and averages 8.47 assists per set to go along with 19 service aces. Elizabeth Rupprecht leads the team with 3.69 digs per set, followed by several players who average at least two.

Fort Lewis is 20-24 all-time against Western Colorado with a 9-14 mark on the road. Last year, Fort Lewis earned a 3-1 win at home. Hobie led the team with 14 kills and 14 digs, followed by Shea who recorded 13 kills.

Scouting New Mexico Highlands
The Cowgirls are 1-16 this season and 0-6 in conference play. Last week, the team was swept by MSU Denver and Colorado School of Mines on the road. New Mexico Highlands has not won a set since a 3-1 loss to Fort Hays State on Friday, September 8. The team is averaging a .157 hitting efficiency versus a .197 mark for their opponents. Terayah Stukes is leading the team with 2.91 kills per set. Soleil Gandara is averaging 9.03 assists per set and has a team-high 25 service aces. Elena River leads the way with 4.26 digs per set.

Fort Lewis leads the all-time series 30-24 and have earned three-straight wins over New Mexico Highlands. The teams faced in a regional pod two weeks ago with the Skyhawks coming away with a sweep. Shea and Butler each had 12 kills while Wilkey Contributed 13 digs.

Around the RMAC
The conference has three teams ranked in the AVCA Division II Coaches Poll, released Monday. MSU Denver leads the way at No. 7 with a 12-3 record, followed by Colorado Mesa at No. 10 with a 16-1 record. Regis University moved up one spot to No. 11 with a 12-3 record.

Fort Lewis ranks fourth in the conference in opponent-hitting percentage (.179). Sophomore Ella Butler ranks second in the league with .64 aces per set. Junior Natalia Lambos is averaging 9.44 assists per set to rank fifth in the conference. Junior Alexis Hobie ranks fifth in the league at 3.21 kills per set. Junior Sarah Wilkey is sixth in the conference with 3.73 digs per set.

Inside the Numbers
The Skyhawks average 12.2 kills per set and 10.8 assists per set this season. The team had a season-high hitting percentage of .348 in a win over Black Hills State. Boasting a deep lineup, Fort Lewis has eight players averaging at least one kill per set. Hobie is leading the way with 3.21 per set, followed by Curry's 2.55. Lambos is averaging a career-best 9.42 assists per set to go along with 1.82 digs per set. Wilkey leads the way on defense with 3.73 digs per set. Butler leads the team with .93  blocks per set, followed by freshman Jordyn Romano's .73 per set average.

Up Next
Fort Lewis is back on the road next week to take on No. 11 Regis University and UCCS for a Friday/Saturday split. Friday's match versus Regis will begin at 7:00 p.m. while the UCCS match is slated for Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
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