GUNNISON, Colo.  The Western Colorado volleyball team has a rare away/home split this week, beginning with Tuesday's Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference match at the South Dakota School of Mines and concluding with an RMAC bout Saturday against visiting Black Hills State University.

WESTERN COLORADO HEADING INTO THE WEEK | 2023 Stats

• The Mountaineers are coming off non-conference pod play at which they dropped a decision to 11th-ranked and host Colorado Mesa, then battled with but eventually fell to Westminster University the next night.
• The Western attack is led by Maggie Olson and Seyun Park. Olson is 14th in the conference in kills per set (2.83) while Park is sixth in the league with a .351 hitting percentage. Olson's 130 kills leads the team, but Park is just four kills behind on the season.
• Two other RMAC-ranked Mountaineers are Kennedy Kelly and Elizabeth Rupprecht. Kelly's 0.43 service aces/set (13 total) are sixth in the conference, and Rupprecht is eighth in digs/set (3.66), leading Western's defense with a total of 183.
• The attack averages a .143 hitting percentage, the team has accumulated 73 service aces, and the defense at the net is averaging 1.2 blocks/set.

SOUTH DAKOTA MINES HEADING INTO THE WEEK | 2023 Stats

• The Hardrockers are 8-6 overall and 2-2 in league play, earning a 3-0 win over Adams State and a 3-2 victory over CSU Pueblo to even their conference record.
• SDM had lost four straight to Western — all by 3-2 scores — before breaking the streak with a 3-0 win in 2022.
• Three players have over 100 kills in the season, paced by Alessandra Meoni's 172. And setting up the attack is Kiley Metzger with 399 assists.
• Digs leader Hannah Benes, with 243 this fall, is also leading the Hardrockers in service aces (32).
• SDM is posting a .197 hitting percentage entering the week, while averaging 1.9 blocks per set.

BLACK HILLS STATE HEADING INTO THE WEEK | 2023 Stats

• The Yellow Jackets are 5-9 overall and 0-4 in RMAC action. They have a 7-4 record against Western (since 2012), a record that includes last season's 3-1 triumph over the Mountaineers.
• Abigail Renner leads three players who have registered at least 100 kills, racking up 171 to this point in the schedule. Emily Freeland (140) and Audrey Brgoch (133) are not far behind.
• Hannah Lamon averages 8.35 assists per set and has tossed up a total of 459 this fall.
• Haedyn Rhoades is the team's digs leader with 286, and Randi Wellhoefer defends at the net with 40.0 blocks from 14 solo and 26 block assists.

UP NEXT
The Mountaineers continue their home stint with the next two matches, squaring off against Fort Lewis College on Dig Pink Night on October 10 then celebrating a Hawaiian Beach Party Oct. 15 against New Mexico Highlands.