Mountain Lions have night of season bests in win over Western

GUNNISON-Molly Crockett had 18 kills to lead the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs to a 3-1 925-18, 25-22, 28-30, 25-15) victory over the Western State Mountaineers Saturday evening at Paul Wright Gym.

Kim Boogaard added 14 kills and Lauren Orth 11 for the Mountain Lions (8-9, 3-5 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference). Jessica Stewart had a match-high 48 assists to go along with her 14 digs, while Kelsey Pobar and Andrea Brodie added 17 and 16 digs respectively.

Amanda Passehl led Western State (4-12, 3-5 RMAC) with 12 kills.

The Mountain Lions hit .191, their highest mark since Sept. 9 and their third highest of the season. Their 80 digs, 57 kills and 52 assists were also season highs.

Ironically for a match with so many highs, UCCS'five blocked tied its season low.

Twelve Western State hitting errors led to a -.042 hitting mark and helped UCCS open with a first-set win. After opening with a 6-2 deficit, two Crockett kills helped the Mountain Lions to a 6-0 run. Western State came back to tie it at nine before Crockett served a 4-0 rally. The lead never dipped below three the rest of the way.

Crockett had five kills and Boogaard and Karina Miastkowska added four each in the second set as UCCS took a back-and-forth affair. Kills by Orth and Miastkowska broke a 7-7 tie and the Mountain Lions maintained a lead the hovered between two and five points.

The Mountain Lions fought off three set points before dropping a lengthy 30-28 third set, denying them the sweep. Crockett again shone with eight kills.

UCCS was at its efficient best in the fourth set, hitting .314 and sharing the wealth, with three players recorded three kills and two other getting a pair. All three recorded by Boogaard came during an 8-2 closing run.