Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

Volleyball Huddle
Kaitlyn Silva

Skyhawks volleyball makes its home debut against Cougars and Eagles

9/26/2024 11:00:00 AM

By: Angela Roberts, Associate AD-Communications
DURANGO, Colo. – After 10 matches on the road throughout Colorado, Texas, and Utah, the Fort Lewis College volleyball team makes its home debut on Friday and Saturday to continue conference play.

Last Time Out
The Skyhawks struggled on the road last week and dropped a pair of three-set matches to Westminster University and #17 Colorado Mesa University. Fort Lewis hit .079 in the match versus Westminster, followed by a .099 efficiency against Colorado Mesa. Against the Griffins, Junior Ella Butler and fifth-year Lauren Shea each had seven kills. Senior Natalia Lambos had a double-double with 22 assists and a team-high 17 digs. Freshman Emery Pomroy followed with 15 digs.

In Saturday's match, the Mavericks hit .347 and held the Skyhawks to a .099 efficiency. Colorado Mesa benefited from 13 blocks and 38 digs compared to six blocks and 26 digs for Fort Lewis. The Skyhawks had the upper hand at the service line where they dropped in eight blocks. Junior Ella Butler led the way at the line with a match-high five aces to go along with five kills and four digs. Fifth-year JJ Curry led the team with 11 kills on a .409 efficiency. Freshman Maddy Shumway led the way with five digs and contributed a pair of aces.

White Out Week!
With volleyball, women's soccer, men's soccer, and football playing at home this week, Skyhawks athletics has selected the homestand as its White Out week. The first 50 fans to each home event this week will receive a free whiteout t-shirt courtesy of Morehart Murphy Regional Auto Center. For the full breakdown of this week's home events, click HERE.

Scouting Colorado Christian
The Cougars are 6-4 and 1-1 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play following a win over Mines (3-1) and loss to #2 MSU Denver (0-3) last week. Colorado Christian is 5-1 at home and 0-2 on the road this season. They were 12-15 in 2023 with an even 7-7 record in conference play. In the RMAC statistical rankings, the Cougars are third in hitting percentage (.244), second in assists (13.3), second in kills (14.22), fourth in aces (1.89), and third in digs (17.19).

Abby Newell leads the way with 3.15 kills per set on the outside, followed by Abby Breeding who is averaging exactly three kills per set. Izzy Jones, a 2x All-Conference pick, returns for her senior season at setter and currently ranks second in the league at 11.11 assists per set. Defense runs through Shelby Hernandez who ranks third in the conference at 4.78 digs per set. She is serve receiving at a .950 clip with seven errors in 139 chances. The net defense is led by Lilly Woods who sits fifth in the RMAC with 1.23 blocks per set.

Fort Lewis trails the all-time series 10-21 and has lost the last four meetings. The Skyhawks hold a slightly better record (6-10) when playing the Cougars at home but are just 1-9 in the last 10 meetings. Fort Lewis was swept last season in Lakewood.

Scouting Chadron State
The Eagles hold a 2-8 record with a 0-2 mark in conference play. They fell to Mines (0-3) and #2 MSU Denver (1-3) last week at home. Chadron State holds wins over UMary (3-1) and Missouri Southern (3-0) this season. The Eagles were 15-12 last season with an 8-6 record in conference play and a 9-3 record in the Chicoine Center. The Eagles ranks near the bottom of the RMAC statistical standings in most statistical categories with the exception of digs (5th, 16.45).

Alejandra Briseno leads the team by averaging 2.25 kills on a .250 efficiency, followed by five players who average over one kills per set. The Eagles have used three setters throughout the season, but it appears Kendyl Kirkwood (4.69 assists/set) and Rylee Ward (2.44 assists/set) have been the most frequently used quarterbacks. The conference leader in digs per set resides on the roster in Alondra Hernandez who averages 4.91 digs per set. She ranks second on the team in serve receive attempts and has struggled with 16 errors in 137 chances (.883).

The historical series between Fort Lewis and Chadron State is tied 13-13, and the Skyhawks hold the upper hand at home with an 8-4 record. Fort Lewis has dropped the last two matchups in five sets. Last season, the Skyhawks had three players in double-digit kills and three that reached double-digit digs in the narrow loss.

Lambos Reaches 2000 Assists
Senior setter Natalia Lambos become the ninth player in program history to reach 2,000 assists for her career. A mainstay in the starting lineup since stepping onto campus, Lambos has established herself as one of the best to ever do it in the blue and gold. After splitting time at setter and right side in her freshman season, she has gone on to average over eight assists per set in the last three seasons. She was just shy of 10 assists per set last and twice earned RMAC Setter of the Week (Oct. 30, Nov. 6) along with All-RMAC Honorable Mention accolades in 2023.

Around the RMAC
The conference has two teams ranked in the AVCA/TERAFLEX DII Poll and one program receiving votes. MSU Denver maintained its No. 2 while Colorado Mesa dropped one spot to No. 18. After a slow start to the season, Regis has dropped out of the poll and is receiving votes.

MSU Denver and Colorado Mesa take up the top two spots in the conference ranks, followed by Westminster, CSU Pueblo, and South Dakota Mines who all remain unbeaten. Fort Lewis is one of five teams that has not picked up a win in league play. The Skyhawks rank 13th in hitting percentage (.133), 11th in assists (11.18), 11th in kills (12.06), 11th in blocks (1.56), 11th in digs (15.06), and 12th in opponent hitting percentage (.220).

Despite running a two-setter offense through many sets in the last two weeks, Lambos continues to rank highly in the league in assists per set, sitting 7th at 8.15. Pomroy leads the Skyhawks in digs per set and ranks 11th in the conference at 3.70. Butler ranks 10th in aces per set, .42, after dropping in five aces against CMU last week.

Up Next
Fort Lewis will head into its Regional Pod next week against Adams State and New Mexico Highlands. The Skyhawks face the Grizzlies on Friday, October 4 at 6:00 p.m. in Alamosa, followed by a 3:00 p.m. Saturday match in Las Vegas, N.M. against the Cowgirls. Neither match will count toward conference win or loss totals.
Print Friendly Version