GUNNISON, Colo.  The beginning of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action for Mountaineer volleyball starts with a bang as No. 12 Colorado Mesa University initiates Western Colorado's home slate with a Friday match at Paul Wright Gym. Westminster University then visits on Saturday evening.

WESTERN COLORADO HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | 2023 Stats

• The Mountaineers are coming off a challenging Mountain Lion Classic from which their 2-2 opening-weekend record slipped to 2-6 after the visit to Colorado Springs.
• Despite the record, four Mountaineers are ranked within RMAC stat leaders: Seyun Park is second in the league in hitting percentage (.393); Maggie Olson is 11th in points/set (3.54) and 12th in kills/set (3.19; Elizabeth Rupprecht is 8th in digs/set (3.41); and Nur Turkmenoglu is 9th in assists/set (7.93).
• Olson set a career-high for kills (15) in a match on the opening, then set a new high with 20 at the Classic in a match against Bemidji (Minn.) State.
• In the same match, Turkmenoglu posted a season-best 47 set assists, surpassing the mark (40) she registered in the opening match of the season.

COLORADO MESA HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | 2023 Stats

• The Mavericks, the only unbeaten team within the RMAC, will look to extend a season-opening 8-0 streak to a ninth consecutive victory for the first time in their D-II program history. They ride a 19-match win streak over the Mountaineers into Friday's contest, last losing to Western on October 26, 2012.
• Sydney Leffler has earned tournament MVP honors in both of CMU's early-season tournaments. She ranks 10th nationally in kills per set (4.61) and 12th in total kills (129).
• Teammate Savannah Spitzer is the reigning RMAC offensive player of the week, though. Spitzer is 13th in the nation in total points (98.0).
• Their current ranking is the highest in-season rank since the 2014 season.

WESTMINSTER HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | 2023 Stats

• The Griffins started the season with a win, lost their next six matches, then picked up their second win with a sweep of Minnesota State Moorhead at a Wisconsin tournament last weekend. Westminster (2-6) faces host Fort Lewis College (3-5 overall) on Friday before making the trip to Gunnison.
• Westminster split with the Mountaineers in last season's two meetings, both squads winning at home. Western had won three straight prior to the Griffins' Sept. victory that was the first of the two meeting in the 2022 schedule.
•  Olivia Curtis' 79 kills leads the Westminster attack, but three others have 50 or more kills: Regan Jackson (59), Claire Cook (56), Mailei Myers (50).
• Setting up the attack in their 6-2 rotation are Leila Cornejo and Josie Gerritsen who have combined for 238 set assists.
• Myers leads the defensive efforts at the net with 24.0 blocks, while Abby Readon (74) and Alanna Lee (70) pace the defense in digs.

UP NEXT
The Mountaineers will hit the road for their next five matches, beginning with an RMAC bout at Chadron State (Neb.) College on Sept. 22.