UCCS Comeback Falls Short Against Nation's No. 16-Ranked Team

COLORADO SPRINGS- Molly Crockett had 13 kills and 13 assists but the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs was unable to complete its comeback attempt in a 3-1 (25-18, 25-16, 14-25, 25-23) loss to the No. 16 Southwest Minnesota State Mustang Friday evening at the Lions'Den.

The match was the fourth of the 2008 Marriott Volleyball Invitational, hosted by the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Andrea Brodie assisted on five blocks and Kelsey Pobar had 23 digs as the Mountain Lions defense held the potent Southwest Minnesota State attack to a modest .140 hitting mark. Sonja Johnson and Jessica Stewart added 14 and 10 digs respectively.

Kasey Loeslie led the Mustangs (5-1) with 15 kills. Laura Hegerle added 12 and Devin Diedrich had 10. Libero Cara Quiram had a match-high 29 digs.

The Mountain Lions looked like a team with six freshmen and three sophomores at times during the first two sets. They were tied at 12 in the first set and were still close at 20-18 when the Mustangs closed with five straight points, including three of their 11 blocks.

UCCS trailed just 17-14 in the second set but Southwest Minnesota State closed with an 8-2 run, getting kills from five different players.

But the third set was something entirely different. UCCS opened with a 4-1 lead aided by two Crockett kills. SW Minnesota managed to tie it at five, but the Mountain Lions answered with a 10-1 run during which Karina Miastkowska had two kills and Lauren Orth added a kill and a service ace. Three more Orth kills led UCCS to a 25-14 win.

The momentum carried over, briefly, to the fourth set as UCCS opened a 7-2 lead. The advantage grew to as many as six before a 9-3 Mustang run tied the set at 18. It was still tied at 23 when a UCCS hitting error and a block by Tory Brouwer and Loeslie ended the match.

UCCS is now 0-2 in its own tournament and 3-3 for the season. The Mountain Lions will play twice on Saturday, the first at 12:30 p.m. against Mesa State and the second at 5 p.m. against No. 8Minnesota-Duluth.