The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs volleyball team (2-5) came into the second game of the Rockhurst Classic against the Missouri-Saint Louis Tritons (3-3) with one thing on its mind, proving they could compete at this level. A 3-2 win proved just that.
In Game 1, the Mountain Lions dominated, rushing out of the gates to a score of 11-3. The game's momentum then began swaying towards the Tritons as they closed the gap and taking the lead at 19-18. The Mountain Lions quickly responded to this threat and retook the lead at 22-21. While the Tritons managed to retie the score at 22-22, the Mountain Lions kept up the pace and fought their way to a 30-27 victory.
In Game 2, the Tritons were no longer underestimating the Mountain Lions and came out to an impressive 14-4 lead. The Mountain Lions traded points with the Tritons to bring the score to 25-15, however the Mountain Lions were never able to overcome the lead the Tritons had built for themselves early and ended up losing the game 30-24.
Game 3 found the Mountain Lions out for blood. They rocketed to a 5-1 lead early in the game. The Tritons were not going to sleep through it though and tied the game up at 5-5. The two teams fought their way back and forth through the next several points to 15-15. The game then saw several large momentum changes, with the Mountain Lions managing to take the win 34-32.
In Game 4, the Mountain Lions rushed out to a commanding 12-6 lead. The evenly-matched teams then struggled back and forth, neither able to string more than a couple points together, as the score moved it's way to 26-20. The Tritons were not to be forgotten though as they went on a 10-2 run to win the game 30-28.
Game 5 was make-or-break time as both teams were not willing to go quietly. The prevailing theme of the match, that of the teams trading points, was showing itself in this game as well. The Mountain Lions, however, managed to squeeze out a few points, clawing their way to a 10-7 lead. This proved to be enough as the Mountain Lions finished the game, and the match, with a 15-13 win.
Diane Sheldon led the Mountain Lions with 19 kills on 38 attempts.
Brooke Akers had 15 kills on 32 attempts and
Lauren Orth managed 14 kills on 40 attempts.
Chistry Trame led the Tritons with 30 kills on 50 attempts. Lisa Brinker led in assists with 68.
