KEARNEY, Neb. -- Andrea Weedman had 13 kills to lead the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs to a 3-1 (30-25, 30-23, 23-30, 30-25) victory over the New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls Friday at the Health and Sports Center.

It was the Mountain Lions first-ever victory at Kearney's H&S Center. UCCS came into the match 0-8 in the regular season and 0-2 in the playoffs in the gym, which is configured to maximize crowd noise and make opponents feel claustrophobic. In addition, the open corners creates some breezes over the playing surface that can be hard to deal with.

"That's really exciting. I didn't think about that," said Weedman. "It's really hard to play in this gym. The air's a lot different."

The match was UCCS' opening game of the second Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference East/West Crossover Tournament. The Mountain Lions will play two matches Saturday, 11 a.m. vs. Adams State and 3 p.m. vs. Western State.

"It's good to get that first one," said Weedman, who noted the neutral court was advantageous. "We're glad we beat New Mexico Highlands. I'd rather play them here than in their gym."

Caroline Ottino added 10 kills for the Mountain Lions (9-10, 5-4 RMAC), who again managed to minimize the mistakes that plagued them earlier in the season. UCCS had only 18 hitting errors, which led to a .198 hitting percentage, the Mountain Lions' third-best mark of the season.

UCCS has been practicing making good decisions when the play breaks down.

"We've been working a lot on out of system balls -- keeping them in play and making smart shots," said Weedman. "(We want to) be smart with the ball. If the shot's not there, do something better with it that hitting it into the net."

Lindsey Myers and Brooke Akers each had six block assists as UCCS had 14 blocks, matching the best output of the season. Myers' output was particularly impressive considering she did not play in the first two games. Jill Wrenn, Ottino and Heidi Fehringer each participated in four blocks as well.

When the Cowgirls were able to penetrate the block, Laura Meeter (23 digs), Weedman (16 digs) and Jessica Stewart (11 digs) were there to clean up.

Audra Williams led New Mexico Highlands (6-15, 1-10 RMAC) with 18 kills. Leanne Parshall added 16 kills and Kelsey Anderson had 14.