SPEARFISH, S.D.  Mountaineer volleyball on Thursday and Friday will participate in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's second weekend of 'pod play,' traveling to Black Hills State University to take on the host Yellow Jackets and Westminster University.

The league introduced two weekends of pod play with the 2023 schedule, neither sets of games counting toward conference standings, though. The earlier pod weekend was grouped via geographical proximity, while this second pod is based upon the final standings of the 2022 regular season.

WESTERN COLORADO HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | 2023 Stats

• The Mountaineers enter the weekend with a 4-16 overall record with a 2-8 mark in league play. They had won two of three matches before dropping their most recent two matches. One of those two recent wins was a 3-2 conference victory over visiting Black Hills State (Oct. 7).
• Maggie Olson and Seyun Park continue to pace the attack. Olson's 3.01 kills per set ranks 11th in the RMAC and she's totaled 205 kills thus far. Park has 194 kills and is knocking down 2.69/set.
• Park is also Western's leader defensively at the net. Her 39.0 blocks come from 8 solo blocks and 31 block assists.
• With an average of 8.74 set assists/set, Nur Turkmenoglu ranks seventh amongst RMAC setters. She also leads Western behind the service line with 24 aces.
• Elizabeth Rupprecht is the primary defender in the back court for the Mountaineers, averaging 3.63 digs/set, ninth in the league, and accumulating 258 digs this season, already her second highest total in a single season.

BLACK HILLS STATE HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | 2023 Stats

• The Yellow Jackets are 5-15 overall and 0-10 in the RMAC. They've lost seven straight coming into Thursday's match, but despite one of those losses coming against Western they are 7-5 since 2012 against the Mountaineers.
• Defensive standout Haedyn Rhoades leads the RMAC in digs/set (4.69) and has scooped up 361 over 77 sets.
• The tandem of Abigail Renner and Hannah Lamon play big roles for BHSU. Renner's 3.16 kills/set (243 total) are seventh best in the RMAC, while Lamon's 7.58 assists/set is ninth best. The duo lead the team in service aces, each with 24.
• Randi Wellhoefer far and away leads the team at the net defensively, rejecting attacks with 16 solo blocks and 33 block assists.

WESTMINSTER HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | 2023 Stats

• The Griffins are 8-13 overall and 5-6 in the conference, with one of those RMAC wins coming at Western in late September. Westminster has won two of its last three matches and sports and 8-8 record against the Mountaineers all time.
• Defensive play has been a strong suit for the Griffins as Abby Reardon, Breegan Huntsman and Mailei Myers all rank within the top 15 of specific RMAC defensive statistics.
• Reardon is 10th in the conference in digs/set (3.43) while Huntsman is 15th (3.00), and Myers is fourth in blocks/set (1.01) with a total of 80.0 blocks (24 BS, 56 BA).
• Westminster has three players averaging better than 2.0 kills/set, led by Olivia Curtis' 2.66 (182 total). Nest is Regan Jackson at 2.08/set (156) followed by Claire Cook's 2.04/set (112).

UP NEXT

• The Mountaineers return home to Paul Wright Gym for their next two matches, both of which are RMAC competitions.
• On Friday, Nov. 3, Colorado State Pueblo comes to town, followed Adams State on Saturday, which will be Western's Senior Night along with an 80's Night theme.