Defeat of Western sets up first-place showdown

A week ago, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs volleyball players admitted, albeit in a chagrined manner, that they had looked past a tough Adams State team in anticipation of their first-place matchup against New Mexico Highlands the following night. The result was a loss to Adams State.

Coming into Fridayâ€^TMs matchup with Western State, the Mountain Lions promised themselves that they wouldnâ€^TMt look past the Mountaineers in anticipation of Saturdayâ€^TMs first-place contest against Mesa State.

The Mountain Lions proved good to their word Friday, erasing an early deficit to defeat Western State 3-0 (30-19, 30-21, 30-28) at Paul Wright Gym.

UCCS is now 16-9 overall and 12-4 in RMAC play. Western slipped to 5-20 overall and 3-13 in conference.

The Mountaineers used a combination of Melinda Baumgartner aces and kills and blocks by Heather Adams to take leads of 6-0 and 9-2 in Game 1.

Caroline Ottino, Kelley Angel and Diane Sheldon each had two kills as the Mountain Lions rallied to tie the Game at 11. The match was still tied at 13 when UCCS went on a 17-6 run to win the opener and take control of the match.

The Mountain Lions held Western to a -.053 attack percentage in Game 2 and then hit .217 to take the Game 3 victory and the match.

Ottino had nine kills to lead UCCS. She also was extraordinarily efficient, posting a .471 hitting percentage. Angel added eight kills, while Sheldon and Andrea Weedman each had seven.

Setters Jessica Stewart and Jocelyn Evans were outstanding. The duo combined for 35 assists and added eight kills without an error in only 11 attacks.

The Mountain Lions will play Mesa State Saturday night for sole possession of first place in the RMACâ€^TMs Western Division.