UCCS Finishes Tournament with 2-2 Mark

DURANGO, Colo. - Sonja Johnson had 33 kills as the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs split its two matches on Saturday and completed its participation in the Fort Lewis Volleyball Tournament with a 2-2 record.

The Mountain Lions dropped their morning match to the Dixie State Rebels 3-2 (24-26, 25-14, 20-25, 25-18, 15-12) and then came back in the afternoon to beat host Fort Lewis 3-1 (25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23).

Johnson led UCCS (5-3) in kills in both matches, getting 16 against Dixie State and 17 against Fort Lewis.

Cindy Bathelt had 90 assists, 31 digs, nine blocks and six kills on the day. Kendall Utz and Kelsey Pobar added 34 and 31 digs respectively while Alex Nuttall added 30 and Johnson had 25. Offensively, Andrea Brodie was second to Johnson in kills with 20 and Nicole Pederson was second to Bathelt in blocks with seven.

The Mountain Lions led Dixie State (6-2) one set to none and 2-1 and led 16-9 in the third set. The Rebels responded with a 10-0 run and closed with a 6-3 spurt to even the match.

The fifth set was tied at seven when Dixie State scored four straight to take control.

Katie Luna led the Rebels with 19 kills, while Brita Noble added 16 and Morgan Hill had 15. Jaycie Jefress had a match-high 29 digs and Chelsi DeWitt had 56 assists.

Johnson scored three of the Mountain Lions' final six points as UCCS broke a 19-all tie in the first set against Fort Lewis to eke out a win. The second set was tied at 22 when two kills by Andrea Brodie and a block by Laura Brodie and Cassey Santucci pushed UCCS to a 2-0 lead in sets. The scored of both sets was 25-23.

After the Skyhawks took the third set, UCCS rebounded to get yet another 25-23 win to seal the match.

Chelsea Flaming led Fort Lewis (2-6) with 19 kills, while Taylor Hilberry added 14.

UCCS will play its first match that counts towards its Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference record on Tuesday, when the Mountain Lions head to Lakewood, Colo., to face the Colorado Christian Cougars.