Match Notes
Live Stats
Live Stream
Tournament Central
 
CANYON, Texas – The defending NCAA South Central Regional Champion Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M start off the 2022 season this weekend as they host the annual BritKare Lady Buff Classic on August 26-27.  The tournament features five Division II programs with Adams State, No. 12 Northwest Missouri, St. Mary's, UCCS, and No. 14 WT.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
A live stream and stats will be provided for the entire 2022 BritKare Lady Buff Classic provided by the WT Athletic Communications department.  All matches for the tournament will be aired on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network.  Fans will be able to purchase a $10 daily pass that will give them access to all contests on the network that day as well as access to previously aired games from the current season for 24 hours. 
 
Fans can also purchase a $50 volleyball season pass that will give them access to all Lone Star Conference volleyball matches.  In addition to live and archived streaming options, viewers will have the option to purchase and download games from the 2021 season for $10 each.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Adams State (Aug. 26 / 11:30 a.m.)
Adams State is coming off an 11-16 season under 18^th-year head coach Lindy Mortenson.  With the Grizzlies, Mortenson has registered over 200 wins including a berth to the NCAA Tournament. ASU returns one of their key contributors in Riley Rabedeaux.  The sophomore totaled 185.5 points for the Grizzlies with 171 kills. WT leads the all-time series 11-3 against the Grizzlies with a four-game win streak.
 
UCCS (Aug. 26 / 7 p.m.)
The Mountain Lions open the tournament against St. Mary's before facing WT in the final game on Friday.  UCCS finished 8-17 and 5-13 in conference.  They are led by first year head coach Tara Hittle after she was selected as the ninth head coach in program history in January.  All-RMAC selection Lauryn Shockley returns to the court for the Mountain Lions after leading the team with 321 kills (3.31/set), totaling 356.5 points.  WT leads the all-time series 3-0 with their last matchup coming in 2014. 
 
St. Mary's (Aug. 27 / 11:30 a.m.)
The Rattlers and Lady Buffs will meet on the court for the 24^th time in program history with WT leading the all-time series 21-2 including a 14-game win streak. Second-year head coach Laura Ulrich and the Rattlers were selected to finish ninth in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll after finishing 14-11 with an appearance in the conference quarterfinals.  Cali Nims is back for the Rattlers after the Corpus Christi product recorded 486 assists which was the 13^th most in the LSC to earn All-Freshman Team honors.  
 
#12 Northwest Missouri State (Aug. 27 / 7 p.m.)
Saturday night's tournament finale will feature a Top 15 showdown as the #14 Lady Buffs and will face the #12 Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State for the second time in program history.  The nationally-ranked Bearcats come to Canyon after a 26-6 season under 11^th-year head coach Amy Woerth who's compiled an overall mark of 161-115.  Northwest returns three AVCA All-American selections in outside hitters Haillie Sidney and Payton Kirchhoefer and setter Alyssa Rezac. Kirchhoefer led the Bearcats with 453 kills (3.81/set) to go along with 47 blocks. 
 
2021 RECAP 
The Lady Buffs are coming off another historical season as finished 26-5 with the programs 14^th appearance in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. WT won the program's 16^th Lone Star Conference Tournament Title to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the 28^th time in school history.  The Lady Buffs earned No. 7 seed for the regional tournament where they battled and won their 14^th South Central Regional title to advance to the Elite Eight.
 
HOME DOMINANCE
WT houses one of the best home environments in the country across all of NCAA volleyball.  The WTAMU Fieldhouse, best known as "The Box" is home to 20 Lone Star Conference Championships, 14 regional titles and three NCAA Division II National Championships.  At "The Box", the Lady Buffs are 508-82 since 1980 for an incredible winning percentage of 86.1% and 90.4% during conference play. 
 
WE'RE NUMBER 1!
The defending Lone Star Conference Champion Lady Buffs were picked up 21-of-44 possible first-place votes for a total of 707 points to land atop the preseason poll.  Angelo State was selected second with 11 first-place votes (699) followed by UT Tyler (7 fpv, 680), Lubbock Christian (586) and DBU (3 fpv, 560) rounding out the top five. 
 
PRESEASON HONORS
Two Lady Buffs received preseason honors as junior Torrey Miller was voted as the LSC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year while Blair Moreland was named the Preseason Setter of the Year.
 
IN THE POLLS
For the first time in six years, the West Texas A&M Lady Buffs enter the 2022 season ranked following the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) NCAA Division II Preseason Poll.  Three programs from the Lone Star Conference were represented in the standings with Angelo State coming in at 13^th followed by WT and UT Tyler in 14^th and 19^th.
 
NEW FACES
WT welcomed 10 newcomers to roster with seven transfers and three true freshmen.  The 2022 newcomers included Emma Becker, Zahria Parker, Piper Warren, Taytum Stow, Jaycee Adams, Ainsley Malis, Ainsley Meissner, Bryli Contreras, Angelina Oliver, and Carly Evetts. 
 
WT HEAD COACH KENDRA POTTS
Kendra Potts begins her fourth season as the helm of Lady Buff Volleyball with an overall 58-16 (.784) record and 37-10 (.787) in league play.  Potts led her alma mater to the program's 14^th NCAA Elite Eight Appearance after capturing the South Central Regional title to become the sixth head coach in program history to guide WT to the Elite Eight. 
 
COMIN' IN HOT
The Lady Buffs are no-stranger to starting off the season hot as WT is 35-7 all-time in season openers including 31-2 when opening inside of The Box.  The Lady Buffs opened last season with a 3-1 victory over Adams State led by 15 kills from Kayla Elliott. 
 
BRITKARE COURT
WT Athletics proudly announced a new state-of-the-art court for the historic home of Lady Buff Volleyball thanks to a generous gift from BritKare Home Medical that highlighted the 2021 season.   ­BritKare Court at The Box features a top-line Taraflex court surface that is widely used in Division I arenas, professional volleyball and was most recently featured at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.  
 
UP NEXT
Following the BritKare Lady Buff Classic, the Lady Buffs will continue preseason play in Denver, Colo. after receiving an invitation to the 2022 Colorado Premier Challenge on Sept. 1-2.  WT will face Central Missouri and Regis in the opening rounds before bracket play on Saturday. 
 
FOLLOW THE LADY BUFFS
Fans can follow and stay up to date on all the Lady Buff action on online and on social media.  Follow the Lady Buffs on Twitter (@WTVolleyball), Instagram (@ladybuffvolleyball), Facebook (@WTVolleyball) and now Tik Tok (@WestTexasAMVB).