UCCS concludes season with win over Chadron State

CHADRON, Neb. - Behind solid production from the team's seniors, each of whom was likely playing in their final collegiate match, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs swept the Chadron State Eagles 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-19).

The Mountain Lions came into the weekend ranked ninth in the Central Region and could advance to the NCAA Tournament if they can climb one spot in next week's rankings. A 1-1 weekend for UCCS makes that possibility remote, however.

It was likely the final match for four UCCS seniors. Johnson, Cindy Bathelt, Jenica Shippy and Alex Wood each completed their career as a Mountain Lion.

Johnson led UCCS (16-12, 10-8 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) with 12 kills and was second the sophomore Skylar Lewandowski with 11 digs. Bathelt, the setter, had a career-best nine kills to go with her match-high 34 assists and seven digs. Wood had eight kills and 10 digs, while Shippy had six kills and five digs.

Jessica Jester led Chadron State (5-25, 0-18 RMAC) with seven kills.

After falling behind 14-10, the Mountain Lions closed the first set with a 15-4 run, including scoring the final six points with Laura Loosbrock at the service line. Loosbrock's ace closed the 25-18 set in which UCCS hit .407.

A seven-point run that included two Johnson kills helped the Mountain Lions take control early in the second set at 11-4. Johnson and Kinzer each had four kills in the set.

The final set was tied at 13 when a pair of Shippy kills helped UCCS forge a 5-1 run. Fittingly, two seniors combined for the final point with Bathelt assisting a kill by Wood.

Bathelt finished her UCCS career fifth in the school records book in assists with 2,151. Johnson rose to sixth in digs with 906, while Wood is now 10th in the same category with 831, On the career kills list, Johnson is 14th with 695, Wood is 19th with 516 and Shippy is 22nd with 481.