Another record crowd witnesses loss

Behind 17 kills each by Samantha Connelly and Holly Swanson, the Colorado State-Pueblo Thunderwolves grabbed two points in the Steel and Silver Series with a 3-2 (24-30, 30-23, 31-29, 28-30, 15-4) victory over the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Wednesday before a UCCS-record 402 fans at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.

With the loss, UCCSâ€^TM lead in the series was reduced to 11-6. Worse for the Mountain Lions (16-11, 12-6 Rocky Mountain Athletic conference), the defeat will also put a dent in their hopes of securing a berth in the regional playoffs. UCCS was ranked ninth in the NCAA Division II Southwest Region rankings, which were released Wednesday. The top eight teams qualify for the regional tournament.

Kelley Angel led UCCS with 17 kills and seven blocks. Andrea Weedman and Caroline Ottino added 11 kills each, while setter Jocelyn Evans had eight kills and 50 assists. Evans normally splits time with fellow freshman Jessica Stewart, but Stewart Missed the match and hitter Diane Sheldon was seriously hampered due to illness.

The Mountain Lions took Game 1 30-24 behind five kills by Weedman, five service aces and a .289 team hitting percentage.

CSU-Pueblo (11-15, 7-11) took Game 2 in similar fashion as Holly Swanson had five kills and the Thunderwolves hit .308.

UCCS was serving for game point in the third at 29-27 after a kill by Angel. The Thunderwolves, though, rallied for four straight points on an Emily Gray kill, a Connelly ace, a block by Gray and Amy Lacy and a kill by Meagan Sater.

While the Mountain Lions didnâ€^TMt fold in Game 4, rallying for a 30-28 win, they did fold in the tiebreaker. Swanson had four kills and Connelly added three as the Thunderwolves blew away UCCS 15-4.

Weedman added 37 digs for UCCS, which now faces a must-win match at Fort Lewis on Friday to keep its regional hopes alive.

Wednesday marked the second time in less than two weeks that UCCS had a record crowd for volleyball. On Oct. 21, 330 fans crammed into the 300-seat Lionsâ€^TM Den for a match against Adams State. UCCS lost both matches in five games.