Banich Leads Mountain Lions as They Fall to No. 12 Colorado Mines
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The University of Colorado Colorado Springs volleyball team fell to No. 12 ranked, Colorado Mines on Friday night in straight sets (25-21, 25-23, 25-12). With the loss, the Mountain Lions fall to 18-9 overall, 12-6 RMAC.
UCCS was led in the first set by two-time reigning RMAC Defensive Player of the Week, Nikki Kinzer. She recorded three kills, two solo blocks, one block assist and one dig in the set, on her way to four kills, a game-high four block assists and two solo blocks in the match. With tonight's performance, Kinzer moved into second all-time for career solo blocks at UCCS in the rally scoring era (since 2001), and is now alone in second with 43. Kinzer also added to her career block assist record and pushed her total to 375.
The teams tied three times late in the second set before the Orediggers closed out the set with a four-point rally with a 25-23 decision. Jordan Banich recorded seven of her nine kills of the match in the set in the best offense attacking set of the match for the Mountain Lions. Megan Koop added three kills and a solo block in the set and finished the night with another two block assists.
Lindsy Heisler and Sam Schroeder both checked into the match for UCCS in the third set, and each recorded two kills. Heather Sanders also had her best set in the third as she put in five of her team-high 11 digs and also added one service ace in the set.
Lindsey Stich set up the Mountain Lion offense all match and finished with a team-high 23 assists. She ranks eighth all-time in school history for career assists with a total of 1,645. She finished the match tonight also adding seven digs, two kills, two block assist and one solo block.
UP NEXT: UCCS will host Colorado Christian (21-8, 11-7 RMAC) Saturday night in the final match of the regular season. The Mountain Lions have won the previous two matches with the Cougars dating back to October 2011. This includes their last match on September 15, of this season which saw UCCS winning 3-1 (8-25, 25-22, 25-14, 25-15).
UCCS Players/Staff Featured | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Nikki Kinzer | 2 | MB | Sr |
 | Jordan Banich | 11 | OH/OPP | R-Fr |
 | Heather Sanders | 8 | DS/L | Jr |
 | Lindsey Stich | 1 | S | Sr |
 | Nikki Kinzer | 2 | MB | |
 | Nikki Kinzer | 2 | MB | |
| Additional News Stories | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| January 16, 2013 |  | Mountain Lions Sign Three For Fall 2013 | COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The University of Colorado Colorado Springs announces three new additions to the Mountain Lion volleyball team for next season. Cameron Girard, Morgan Evans and Emily Whitelaw have all signed letters of intent during the early signing period to join UCCS in the Fall. |
| January 10, 2013 |  | Elder Named Next UCCS Head Volleyball Coach | The University of Colorado Colorado Springs is proud to announce Chrissy Elder as the new head coach of the UCCS volleyball team. She spent the last four seasons as the Head Assistant Coach at the University of Central Missouri. |
| December 5, 2012 |  | Kinzer Earns Spot on Daktronics All-America Third Team | University of Colorado Colorado Springs senior middle blocker Nikki Kinzer finished a record-setting career with a spot on the Daktronics All-America Third Team, announced this morning by the Division II Sports Information Directors. She's the first All-American in program history. |
| December 4, 2012 |  | Barnett Resigns as UCCS Head Volleyball Coach | Keith Barnett, the four-year Head Volleyball Coach for the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, resigned his position this morning. His resignation will be effective immediately. The Mountain Lions advanced to the RMAC tournament for the seventh time in the last nine seasons and for the third time under Barnett in 2011. |
| November 27, 2012 |  | Kinzer Earns Daktronics All-South Central Region First Team Honor | LAKEWOOD, Colo. - Nikki Kinzer, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs career record holder in block assists, earned Daktronics First Team All-South Central Region honors today. The RMAC Defensive Player of the Year will advance to the national ballot for All-America consideration. |
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