Mountain Lions Respond with Sweep of their Own
CHADRON, Neb. - The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs rebounded from Friday night's loss to Nebraska-Kearney with a win in straight sets (25-17, 25-14, 25-14) over the Chadron State Eagles. UCCS dominated from the get go as their only deficit of the match came via a 1-0 score to start the second set.
The Mountain Lions out hit the Eagles .268 to .028 and only had 10 errors compared to the Eagles' 23.
UCCS (9-5, 3-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) kept Chadron State (2-11, 1-4 RMAC) guessing as they were firing from all over the court. Nikki Kinzer and Sonja Johnson led the Mountain Lions with nine and seven kills respectively followed by Alex Nuttall (6) and Nicole Pederson (5).
Kinzer also led the team in hitting percentage at a .500 clip on the night and at one point in the second set accounted for six straight Mountain Lion points. Kinzer and Lindsey Stich had a block to put UCCS up 14-11. Five straight kills by Kinzer and one timeout by the Eagles later, the Mountain Lions found themselves up 19-11 and never looked back.
"I didn't realize we got on that big of roll but I think the team recognized that we had a chance to earn a bunch of points and we took advantage of that," said Kinzer "It was an altogether team effort."
Stich not only assisted Kinzer with the block but she also set all five of her attacks during the run which contributed to her match high 27 assists. On the run, Stich contributed "The energy really got going after we picked up our kill percentage. The passes were spot on and that allowed us to do what we want to; kill the ball and win."
Alex Nuttall and Kendall Utz combined for 21 of the teams 43 digs as Nuttall had 11 and Utz added 10.
Lauren Yoder had a match high 11 kills for the Eagles and Kyla Duncan had a team high 23 assists while Jessica Jester had two aces to go with her team high four blocks.
The Mountain Lions will try to ride this momentum into Tuesday as they continue conference play when they host the Colorado Mines Orediggers at 7 P.M.
UCCS Players/Staff Featured | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Nicole Pederson | 15 | MB | |
| Nicole Pederson | 15 | MB | |
 | Lindsey Stich | 1 | S | Sr |
 | Lindsey Stich | 1 | S | Fr |
 | Lindsey Stich | 1 | S | So |
 | Lindsey Stich | 1 | S | Jr |
 | Alex Wood | 13 | RS | Sr |
 | Alex Wood | 13 | RS | Jr |
 | Alex Wood | 13 | RS | So |
 | Alex Wood | 13 | RS | Fr |
 | Kendall Utz | 8 | L | |
| Kendall Utz | 8 | L | |
 | Nikki Kinzer | 2 | MB | |
 | Nikki Kinzer | 2 | MB | Sr |
 | Nikki Kinzer | 2 | MB | |
| Additional News Stories | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| November 11, 2010 |  | Playoff Loss to Mesa State Ends Mountain Lions' Season | COLORADO SPRINGS - Alex Nuttall and Nikki Kinzer of the University of KEARNEY, Neb. - The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs' foray into the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference postseason tournament ended with its first match, a 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-19) loss to the No. 2 seeded Mesa State Mavericks Thursday at the health & Sports Center. |
| November 10, 2010 |  | Nuttall, Kinzer named to All-RMAC volleyball teams | COLORADO SPRINGS - Alex Nuttall and Nikki Kinzer of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs were named to the All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Volleyball second and third team respectively, the conference announced Tuesday. |
| November 6, 2010 |  | UCCS Ends Regular Season with Loss, Playoffs on Tap | COLORADO SPRINGS – The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs completed its regular season Saturday with a 3-0 (27-25, 25-16, 25-20) loss to the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers at the Gallogly Events Center. |
| November 5, 2010 |  | Mountain Lions Clinch Playoff Berth with Win over Chadron State | COLORADO SPRINGS - Behind 16 kills and a .682 hitting mark by Nikki Kinzer, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs clinched a berth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference postseason tournament by dispatching the Chadron State Eagles 3-0 (25-10, 25-12, 25-13) Friday evening at the Gallogly Events Center. |
| November 3, 2010 |  | UCCS raises $841 for Breast Cancer | The UCCS women’s volleyball program teamed up with the UCCS Sport Management program to raise $841 for Dig Pink, a nationwide event that helps the volleyball community to provide support, awareness, and funding towards breast cancer. |
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