Concord Opens Season at Colorado Mines Volleyball Classic

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University volleyball team begins its 2024 regular season with a trip to Golden, Colo. to compete in four games at the Colorado Mines Volleyball Classic Friday and Saturday.
 
SCHEDULE
3:00 p.m. Friday – Concord at Colorado Mines
6:00 p.m. Friday – Concord vs. #13 Regis
12:00 p.m. Saturday – Colorado vs. Missouri Western
7:00 p.m. Saturday – Concord vs. #17 Colorado Mesa
All times Eastern
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The Colorado School of Mines Sports Information department will provide live video and statistics for all matches this weekend.
 
LIVE STATS
 
SERIES HISTORY
Colorado Mines: First Meeting
Regis: Regis leads 1-0
Missouri Western: First Meeting
Colorado Mesa: First Meeting
 
ALL-TIME MEETINGS AGAINST REGIS
September 7, 2019: Regis 3 – Concord 0 (Anchorage, Alaska)
 
CONCORD AT A GLANCE
2023 Record: 16-15
2023 Home Record: 6-6
2023 Away Record: 5-7
2023 Neutral Record: 5-2
 
BACK FOR MORE
CU will don some familiar faces on the court in 2024 as it returns 91.4 percent of its offensive production from last season. The Mountain Lions offensive attack is led by sophomore outside hitter Meg Williams, an All-MEC Second Team selection in her freshman season. Williams smashed 401 kills in 2023, good for second most in the Mountain East conference and the third-most in a single season in program history. Concord also returns sophomore outside hitter Chloe Thompson who logged 327 kills in her freshman campaign on a .213 hitting percentage. Other notable retuning offensive production includes senior middle hitter Kyndra Pilant (kills) and her team-best .237 hitting percentage last fall and sophomore right side Natalie Brown's 154 kills and .200 hitting percentage.
 
LINE OF DEFENSE
Not only was Pilant a productive force on the offensive side of the ball, she led the team in total blocks (99) and block assists (87) while tying the team lead for solo blocks (12). She recorded at least six blocks in a match six different times including her career-high of eight blocks against Emory & Henry.  As a team, CU ranked fifth in the MEC in blocks per set (1.81) and total blocks (202.5). The Maroon and Gray also welcome back sophomore defensive specialist Allie Davis. Davis ranked fourth in the conference in digs per set (4.45) and led the team in total digs for the season (498). To go along with their offensive production, Williams and Thompson also contributed on the defensive side each notching 11 double-doubles.
 
DYNAMIC DUO
Among the retuning core is the sophomore setting duo of Paige Richmond and Declyn Tooze. Richmond ranked eighth in the MEC last year with 5.38 assists per set. She finished her freshman campaign with 602 total assists while Tooze followed with 469 assists. The duo also cracked the top 10 in the league in service aces per set. Richmond led CU with 63 aces, slotting her third in the MEC at 0.56 per set while Tooze served 44 aces and finished seventh in the league with 0.40 per set. Davis also provided 68 assists and 14 aces while on the floor a season ago.
 
RECORD-BREAKING YEAR
2023 was a record-shattering year for Concord Volleyball. The Mountain Lions won 16 games last fall, the most since their 17-win effort in 2016. CU also clinched a spot in the MEC Tournament for the first time since 2017. The 2023 squad also etched their name in the CU record book in four different categories. The team's 1,287 kills rank fifth in a single season in program history, 1,202 assists are tied for the third-best mark in program history, 1,622 digs is the sixth-best mark in school history, and the collective .178 hitting percentage ties the 2023 Mountain Lions for ninth all-time. Williams also tied a single-game program record when she clubbed 25 kills in a home match against King last September.
 
 
COLORADO MINES AT A GLANCE
2023 Record: 14-12
2023 Home Record: 8-5
2023 Away Record: 4-5
2023 Neutral Record: 2-2
 
SCOUTING THE OREDIGGERS
Veteran head coach Jamie Magalei enters her 17^th year at the helm of Colorado Mines. She returns sophomore setter Presley Powell who led the team in assists (1,056) and service aces (30) that earned her All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Honorable Mention honors in 2023. Digs leader junior defensive specialist Jada Price and junior middle hitter Morgan McChesney return defensively for the Orediggers.
 
REGIS AT A GLANCE
2023 Record: 23-7
2023 Home Record: 12-2
2023 Away Record: 8-2
2023 Neutral Record: 3-3
 
SCOUTING THE RANGERS
Regis enters the season ranked 13^th in the country on the back of its 2023 RMAC Tournament Championship. The Rangers return one of five All-RMAC First Team honorees from last year in senior middle hitter Amelia Davis. Davis racked up 230 kills and 1.32 blocks per set, ranking her sixth in Division II. Graduate outside hitter Halle Theis was an All-RMAC Honorable Mention performer and returns a team-best 249 kills from 2023.
 
MISSOURI WESTERN AT A GLANCE
2023 Record: 21-10
2023 Home Record: 7-4
2023 Away Record: 8-3
2023 Neutral Record: 6-3
 
SCOUTING THE GRIFFONS
MWU returns a wealth of production from last season including the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association Freshman of the Year outside hitter Holly Heldt. Heldt (359) and sophomore right side Taylor Russell (330) led the Griffons in kills last season. Sophomore defensive specialist Anna Weberg was an All-MIAA First Team selection last season and was 13^th nationally averaging 5.35 digs per set. Senior middle hitter Lily Kurz returns defensively having blocked 110 total attempts last fall.
 
COLORADO MESA AT A GLANCE
2023 Record: 24-5
2023 Home Record: 13-1
2023 Away Record: 6-2
2023 Neutral Record: 5-2
 
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
Colorado Mesa brings back D2CCA All-American and RMAC Player of the Year senior outside hitter Sydney Leffler. Leffler crushed 441 kills last season on a .255 hitting percentage. CMU also returns RMAC Setter and Defensive Players of the Year in senior Sabrina VanDeList and junior Allison Waller. VanDeList finished third in the country last season averaging 11.64 kills per set. Mavericks Head Coach Dave Fleming enters his 20^th season at Colorado Mesa and is the winningest active head coach in the RMAC.