PITTSBURG – The Pittsburg State Volleyball team will make the long trip out west this weekend to face No. 5 Nebraska-Kearney on Friday (October 14) at 7 p.m. and Fort Hays State on Saturday (October 15) at 2 p.m.

The Lopers are 22-1 overall and 7-1 in the MIAA. The Lopers' one loss was to Wahburn, a 3-1 decision in Topeka last Friday. UNK is 28-0 at home over the last two seasons. The team averages 14.2 kills per set, while holding opponents to only 10.0 kps, while hitting .320. Their blocks totals double that of opponents 176.5 to 87.0 or 2.4 bps to 1.2 bps. Kaitlynn Thomas puts down 3.32 kps and Annie Wolfe adds 3.06. Lindey Smmith is the team's setter with 11.47 assists per set and also leads the team in service aces with 23. Mackenzie Puckett leads the team in blocks with 1.07 bps, with Tara Ziegelbein just behind with 1.00 bps. Ellie McDonnell leads in digs with 4.62 dps.

The Fort Hays State Tigers are 18-5 overall and 4-4 in league play. Tuesday night the team won non-conference matches over Oklahoma Panhandle and Northwestern Oklahoma, each 3-0. The Tigers put down 13.6 kps and hit at a .232 clip. They also add 1.1 aces per set, 16.9 digs per set and 2.4 blocks per set. Crystal Whitten leads the MIAA with 3.97 kps and also leads in aces with 20. Rebekah Spainhour adds 3.23 kps and hits a team-leading .354. Hannah Wagy is the setter with 11.29 assists per set. Defensively, Ari Jaconsen leads the team with 3.88 dps. She is one of three players that gets three or more digs per set, the other being Whitten (3.13 dps) and Kailey Klibbe (3.01 dps). Callie Christensen is the blocks leader with 94.0 total blocks for 1.19 blocks per set. 

The Gorillas are 4-15 overall and 2-10 in the MIAA. The team is currently ninth in the league standings after having won each of its last two matches, over Southwest Baptist and Missouri Southern last weekend. The Gorillas hit at a .145 clip and average 10.9 kills per set. The Gorillas get assists on 10.1 of those kills. PSU averages 14.6 digs per set. Opponents are only slightly higher with 14.9 dps. Pitt State has 105.5 blocks on the season for 1.5 bps, only slightly less than  opponents 116.0 blocks and 1.7 blocks per set. 

Maggie Highberger has been a steady scorer for the Gorillas over the last several weeks. She currently leads the team with 2.59 kills per set. Peyton Walker's totals are just slightly under Highberger's after battling an injury. She puts down 2.46 kps. Zoey Qi adds 2.00 kps. Cal VanBuskirk has worked her way into the starting position at setter for the Gorillas. She averages 7.43 assists per set after sharing setting duties with Kylie Farris (4.29 aps) in the early part of the season. Van Buskirk is second on the team with 11 aces. Taylor Wright leads with 13. 

Libero Ashlen Schwartz paces Pitt State with 3.75 digs per set. Lairen Maisberger adds 2.40 and Wright, 2.31 dps. Taylor Unke leads the team with 47 total blocks for 0.70 bps. Lauren Regier adds 31, and Qi, 22.