DURANGO, Colo. – With five matches remaining in the season, Western Colorado University volleyball starts a four game road swing this weekend. Friday, the Western takes on Fort Lewis College at 7 p.m. in Whalen Gymnasium. On Saturday, Western heads over Wolf Creek Pass to face rival Adams State University at 7 p.m. in Plachy Hall.

Including a match win at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, Western (2-19, 1-12 RMAC) has taken four set wins in their last three matches.

In recent weeks, Emilee Scates has come on strong for Western, hitting above .300 in three of the last five matches while also recording double-digit kill tallies twice. On the season, Scates now has 120 kills.

As they have throughout the season, Kathleen Kasel and Kirsten Companik continue to lead the Western offensive attack with 122 and 138 kills, respectively.

Sophomore setter, Hanna Hendrickson continues to have a strong season for the Mountaineers, having recorded 535 assists in 21 matches. Her 7.75 assists per set continues to be amongst the best in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

Against Fort Lewis College (6-11, 6-7 RMAC) Western finds a team riding a two-match win streak. In the month of October, the Skyhawks have won three of five matches. After a tough preseason schedule, Fort Lewis has accumulated all of their wins in RMAC play.

Overall, Fort Lewis leads the all-time series with Western 44-30.

Despite hitting .180 as a team, Fort Lewis has two consistent arms in Bailey Longacre and Tye Wedhorn who hit .241 and .365 on the season, respectively. Wedhorn is the fourth most efficient hitter in the RMAC.

Defensively, the Skyhawks get a lot of balls up playing team defense. Fort Lewis leads the conference in digs per set at 16.89 despite not having a player factor into the individual statistical leaders for digs.

At Adams State University (8-13, 5-8 RMAC) Western tests a team battling for a position in the RMAC Conference Tournament. Both Adams State and Chadron State are a game behind eighth-place Fort Lewis.

In the history of the rivalry, Adams State leads Western 46-36. In their last match up, Western fell 3-1 to Adams to close out the 2017 season. This weekend will be the first test between the Mountaineers and the Grizzlies in 2018.

On a two-match win streak, the Grizzlies continue to ride the big arms of Shannon Mulkey and Hannah Goddard.

Setter Rachael Ringer deserves much credit for the Grizzly offensive attack as she averages 10.29 assists per set.

Remember to check back to gomountaineers.com for recaps of the weekend action. As well, live stats and video streaming can be found in the links above.