Mountain Lions upset Adams State

What a big win.

The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs upset the Adams State Grizzles 3-1 (30-18, 28-30, 30-25, 30-25) Friday night in the Lions^' Den.

Adams State (8-4, 3-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) came into the match leading the RMAC^'s West Division, but Friday the Mountain Lions looked like the superior team.

CU-Colorado Springs outhit Adams State .257 to .072 and also dominated the Grizzles defensively with 88 digs, compared to 66 for Adams State.

"We came ready to play tonight," said coach Jessica Wood, who was obviously proud of her team^'s play. "They played out of their minds."

Kelly Olson, who has been nursing an injured abdomen and was relegated to playing libero, played the front row for the first time since early in the season. Olson had 18 kills and a match-high 25 digs.

"It was really exciting to get back (to playing front row)," said Olson. "It was good to hit the ball as hard as I did."

Freshman Natalie Newberry got her first career start at libero and played extremely well, tallying 24 digs - including one momentous save while on her knees - and numerous accurate passes.

CU-Colorado Springs (7-6, 2-3) used an 8-1 run to go up 17-9 in Game 1. The Mountain Lions hit .325 for the game as they won easily 30-18.

Adams State took a big lead early in Game 2, going up 14-6. The Mountain Lions slowly chipped away at the lead, but came up short. CU-Colorado Springs then shocked the Grizzles by winning the next two games.

Jill Wrenn had a match-high 20 kills and Caroline Ottino added 16. Setter Lindsey Hillegass had 63 assists which is tied for the ninth-highest single-match output in school history.

"This is such a huge win for us," said Olson. "Because of this, New Mexico Highlands (The Mountain Lions^' opponent Saturday at 5 p.m.) knows they have a tough game on their hands.'