Mountain Lions Take Fifth Straight with Win Over New Mexico Highlands
LAS VEGAS, N.M. - Make it five straight for the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs volleyball team.
The Mountain Lions took just one hour, 15 minutes in winning their fifth in a row and seventh of the past eight Friday evening with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-19) victory over the New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls at the Wilson Complex.
UCCS, which learned Thursday that it was regionally ranked (eighth) for the first time this season, strengthened its case for such notoriety Friday by improving to 13-7 overall and 8-4 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Setters Cindy Bathelt (20 assists) and Lindsey Stich (seven) spread the wealth skillfully, as nine different Mountain Lions registered kills. Andrea Brodie, who also added three service aces, and Jenica Shippy led the way with six kills each, followed closely by Lauren Orth and Nicole Pederson, who had five each. Pederson also had three solo and three assisted blocks.
Vanessa Leal led New Mexico Highlands (1-20, 0-10 RMAC) with 10 kills.
Bathelt served up a 9-0 run to break open the first set and give the Mountain Lions a 17-6 lead. In the set, the Cowgirls committed 12 of their 29 attack errors.
UCCS opened quickly in the second set, building a 15-4 lead paced by three kills by Shippy, two by Laura Brodie and two solo and three (two solo, one assisted) blocks by Pederson. Two Leal kills helped NMHU close the deficit to 15-11, but the Cowgirls could get no closer.
The third set opened with an 8-1 UCCS run. The Cowgirls never got closer than five afterward.
UCCS' win streak will face a big test on Saturday when the Mountain Lions face Western New Mexico, which is 7-5 in RMAC play, in Silver City, N.M
UCCS Players/Staff Featured | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Lauren Orth | 5 | OH | Fr. |
| Lauren Orth | 5 | OH | Fr. |
| Lauren Orth | 5 | OH | Fr. |
 | Nicole Pederson | 15 | MB | |
| Nicole Pederson | 15 | MB | |
 | Andrea Brodie | 2 | OH | |
| Andrea Brodie | 2 | OH | |
 | Jenica Shippy | 9 | OH | |
 | Jenica Shippy | 9 | OH | |
 | Jenica Shippy | 9 | OH | |
 | Cindy Bathelt | 16 | S | |
 | Cindy Bathelt | 16 | S | |
 | Cindy Bathelt | 16 | S | |
 | Laura Brodie | 10 | MB | Fr. |
| Additional News Stories | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| December 5, 2009 |  | UCCS volleyball signs three | University of Colorado at Colorado Springs volleyball coach Keith Barnett announced Saturday that he had signed three recruits to national letters of intent. Joining the Mountain Lions for the 2010 season will be Skylar Lewandowski from Rampart High School, Danica Lawrence from Columbine High School and Erika Cushnie from the Waiakea High School in Hilo, Hawaii. |
| November 12, 2009 |  | Mountain Lions Eliminated in First Round of RMAC Playoffs | KEARNEY, Neb. - University of Colorado at Colorado Springs coach Keith Barnett's first trip to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference playoffs ended prematurely as the No. 4-seed Mountain Lions were beaten 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-19) by the fifth-seeded Colorado School of Mines Orediggers Thursday evening at the Health and Sports Center. |
| November 11, 2009 |  | Laura Brodie Named RMAC Freshman of the Year, Bathelt also Honored | Laura Brodie of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs was named the 2009 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, the RMAC announced Wednesday. |
| November 7, 2009 |  | Mountain Lions Win in Five Sets, Head to RMAC Playoffs on Positive Note | COLORADO SPRINGS - It was a bad night for monkeys at the Lions' Den on Saturday.The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Mountain Lions got their personal monkey off their backs, taking a five-set 3-2 (25-23, 15-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-12) victory over the Regis Rangers. |
| November 6, 2009 |  | Loss to Metro State Puts Mountain Lions' Regional Aspirations in Jeopardy | COLORADO SPRINGS - With the sets even at one each and Mountain Lions leading by five in the third, everything changed in a moment for the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs volleyball team. Laura Brodie, who represents one-half of one of the most formidable pair of middle blockers in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, went high to hammer a set from Cindy Bathelt. A Metro State player had crossed far enough under the net that her foot was at Brodie's landing point, her out of the game with an ankle injury and, with just a couple of weeks remaining, likely out for the season. |
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