ALAMOSA - Almost can be a very empty word. For instance, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs volleyball team almost staged a remarkable comeback Friday evening.

See? I told you it was empty.

Instead, the Mountain Lions dropped a 3-1 (25-21, 15-25, 25-16, 25-20) decision to the Adams State Grizzlies at Plachy Hall.

Trailing 17-7 in the fourth set, UCCS came roaring back to close to within one at 18-17.  The momentum stalled, however, as the Grizzlies won the set 25-20 and the match.

"Unfortunately, when you dig a 10-point hole, you're not going to win very many matches," said UCCS coach Keith Barnett.

Laura Loosbrock led Adams State (7-12, 4-7 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) with 15 kills and Deprece Washington assisted on nine of the Grizzlies' 16 blocks.

Nicole Pederson led UCCS (11-9, 5-6 RMAC) with 11 kills while Sonja Johnson added nine kills and 16 digs.

Loosbrock owned a lethargic UCCS team with six kills in the first set, two of which came as the Grizzlies opened 5-1. The Mountain Lions worked back to a 9-all tie and the margin stayed within two either way until an 8-4 Adams State run made it match point at 24-20. A Dominique Davis kill wrapped up the 25-21 win for Adams State.

The sluggishness that dogged UCCS throughout the opening set dissipated in the second as the Mountain Lions committed no unforced hitting errors to post a video-game-like .414 hitting mark. That efficiency helped open with a 12-4 lead and keep the lead at five or better the rest of the way.

Whatever magic that the Mountain Lions had been riding abandoned them in the third set. UCCS hit into six blocks, posting a hitting mark of -.097. Like a good disaster movie, the real havoc came at the end as Adams State closed with a 9-1 run.

The constant teeter-totter between dominance to incompetence that the Mountain Lions have been riding showed in Barnett's frustration after the match.

"It's hard to have perspective tonight but, perspective aside, we do this too often," he said, "It's not a one-time thing and it's not like I'm overreacting about one game. It's what we do consistently.

"We're Jekyll and Hyde. We need production out of more spots. We're not getting it consistently right now out of every player, every game."