PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University Gorillas volleyball team will return to Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) action when they hit the road this weekend for a pair of MIAA matches against the University of Central Missouri Friday (Oct. 25) and Northwest Missouri State University Saturday (Oct. 26).

Friday's match with the Jennies is scheduled for 6 p.m. (CDT) while first serve for Saturday's match with the Bearcats slated for 7 p.m. (CDT).

Scouting the Gorillas
The Gorillas are coming off a three-set sweep over Fort Hays State University last Saturday (Oct. 19) and a four-set win over the University of Central Oklahoma on Tuesday (Oct. 22). Pitt State enters Tuesday's action with an 11-10 overall record and a 6-6 mark in MIAA play.

Head coach Jen Gomez, who is in her fourth season at the helm, enters the match with a 42-72 record leading the Gorillas.

The weekend action will mark the Gorillas sixth and seventh match-ups against teams ranked in the NCAA Division II Top 25 poll. Five of Pitt State's six losses on the season have come against top 25 squads.

The Gorillas are hitting .189 on the season while holding their opponents to a .181 attacking percentage. Senior outside hitter Erika Ivkov (Ward, Colo.) leads Pitt State with 26 service aces and 241 kills, both team highs. Marissa Bates is the top defensive player with 307 digs on the season.

Scouting the Jennies
UCM enters the weekend action 14-6 overall, 8-3 in the MIAA and ranked No. 10 in this week's national poll. The Jennies are coming off a 2-1 week on the road that included a victory over No. 14 Northwest Missouri and a loss to No. 4 Washburn University. UCM concluded last week's action with a 3-0 sweep of Emporia State University.

The Jennies have the best attack percentage in the league at .268. UCM also averages the most kills (14.62 per set), assists (13.38 per set) and the most aces (1.51 per set). Audrey Fisher is in the MIAA top-10 in both hitting percentage and aces. She leads the league both in in attach percentage (.404) and she's eighth overall in service aces (0.31 per set).

Scouting the Bearcats
Northwest enters the weekend 15-5 overall, 8-4 in the MIAA and ranked No. 14 in the national poll. It marks just the 16th time in program history that Northwest has been ranked in the AVCA top 25. The Bearcats survived a five-set thriller against Missouri Western State University Tuesday at Bearcat Arena.

Junior Maddy Ahrens (Appleton, Wis.) leads the squad in assists (836) and service aces (26). Ahrens ranks No. 4 in the MIAA in assists per set (10.72). She has posted seven double-doubles in 2019. Junior Hallie Sidney (Chesterfield, Mo.) leads the MIAA in kills (309) and kills per set (4.12).

Earlier Meetings
UCM swept the Gorillas on Sept. 28 in Pittsburg getting 13 kills from Sydney Lierz and 12 from Audrey Fisher. Pitt State hit .047 in the match. The Jennies won by set scores of 25-15, 26-24 and 25-14.

Northwest notched a four-set win over the Gorillas in Pittsburg on Sept. 27. The Bearcats won with set scores of 15-25, 31-29, 25-16 and 25-22. In that match Meg Auten paced the Gorillas with 14 kills both Morgan Henning and Emily Regier each posting eleven kills.

Up Next
Pitt State will return home next week for a Tuesday (Oct. 29) match up with Newman and a Saturday (Nov. 2) match with Missouri Western. Both matches are set for a 6 p.m. (CDT) first serve.

The Gorillas will then close out the regular season on the road as they have tilts with Washburn (Nov. 8), Emporia State (Nov. 9), Fort Hays State (Nov. 15) and Nebraska-Kearney (Nov. 16).