Western Colorado (0-0) vs. Midwestern State (0-0)
8 a.m. Friday | Jonh Lance Arena/Whetzel Court | Pittsburg, Kans.

Western Colorado (0-0) vs. Missouri Western (0-0)
3:30 p.m. Friday | Jonh Lance Arena/Whetzel Court | Pittsburg, Kans.

Western Colorado (0-0) vs. East Central (0-0)
10:30 a.m. Saturday | Jonh Lance Arena/Whetzel Court | Pittsburg, Kans.

Western Colorado (0-0) at Pittsburg State (0-0)
3:30 p.m. Saturday | Jonh Lance Arena/Whetzel Court | Pittsburg, Kans.

GUNNISON, Colo --- Western Colorado University volleyball opens up their season with four games at the Gorilla Classic Tournament in Pittsburg, Kansas. The team will play two games on Friday and two on Saturday.
 
On Friday, the Mountaineers will play their season opener against Midwestern State University Texas at 8 a.m. Later that day Western will face off against Missouri Western State University at 3:30 p.m.
 
On Saturday, the Mountaineers will go up against East Central University at 10:30 p.m. Then later play the host team of Pittsburg State University at 3:30 p.m.
 
THE MOUNTAINEERS HEADING INTO 2019 | 2018 SEASON STATS
After a tough 2018 season the Mountaineers look to bounce back in 2019. With adding eight new players to the 2019 roster, Western has plenty of young talent for the upcoming season along with seven upper classmen to lead the team towards a successful 2019 season.
 
The Mountaineers do return their leading setter from last season in Hanna Hendrickson who tied for the most sets played last season at 84 sets, returner Lyria Brook also played 84 sets. Hendrickson set an impressive 640 sets last season, which accounted for 88 percent of all of Western's sets.
 
Also returning are the two of the three leading scorers from last season, Kirsten Companik and Emilee Scates. Companik finished as Western second leading scorer in 2018 with 168.5 points, leading the team in attacks with 599 and racking in the most kills for the Mountaineers with 153. Scates was the third leading scorer in 2018 with 150.5 points.
 
MIDWESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY TEXAS | 2018 SEASON STATS
This is the second time Western has ever played MSU. The Mountaineers won the previous meeting 3-1 on August 25, 2006 in Lakewood, Colorado. Last year Mustangs finished the season 5-23 with a 2-5 record at neutral sites.
 
Of their four returning starters, senior middle blocker Sarah Eakin leads the team after setting a single season record last year with 1.30 blocks per set. Sarah Glawe started every game last season, ranking third in the league with 7.70 assists per set.
 
MISSOURI WESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY | 2018 SEASON STATS
Last season the Griffons went 15-17 overall and this year's team features nine newcomers along with nine returners.
 
Returning junior Ali Tauchen and senior setter Lauren Murphy are both two-time All-MIAA perfomers. Missouri Western is coming off of one of the best seasons in program history two years ago, sharing the MIAA regular season championship with Nebraska-Kearney and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Central Region Championships.
 
EAST CENTRAL UNIVERSITY | 2018 SEASON STATS
This will be the first meeting between the Tigers and the Mountaineers. As the Tigers enter their 12th season as a program they have gone 1-10 in season openers. They lost six players from last year's roster but have added six new faces to their 2019 roster.
 
Last season the Tigers went 0-28. The team has two returning seniors, Kautica Butler and Kaitlyn Coffey who are both looking for a victory during the 2019 season.
 
PITTSBURG STATE UNIVERSITY | 2018 SEASON STATS
The Gorillas return nine players from the 2018 roster with fourth-year head coach Jen Gomez at the helm for another season after finishing 18-13 overall last year and going 7-11 in the MIAA Conference.
 
Junior middle blocker Emily Regier returns for the Gorillas after leading the team last season with 118 total blocks and eight solo blocks. She also recorded 206 kills (1.84 kps) while hitting for a .285 percentage on the season. Regier finished the season ranked third in the MIAA in blocks per set (1.05 bps).
 
Sophomore setter Brianna Richard (Ames, Iowa) split the setting duties last year. She posted 492 assists and tallied 14 kills.
 
NEXT WEEK
Following the Pitt State Classic, Western Colorado will travel to the Fort Hays State Tournament to play on the 13th and 14th of September, taking on four non-conference opponents.