OLDEN - Alex Nuttall had 21 kills to lead the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs to a 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 25-20, 25-18) victory over the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers Tuesday evening at Lockridge Arena.

The Mountain Lions improved to 14-10 overall and 8-7 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play. The win sets up a showdown with Colorado Christian (8-6 in the RMAC) with major playoff implications Friday at the Gallogly Events Center.

Jenica Shippy (13), Nicole Pederson (12) and Nikki Kinzer (11) each reached double-digit kills for UCCS, while Kinzer assisted on nine of the Mountain Lions' 10 blocks. Kendall Utz led the defense with 14 digs and Lindsey Stich contributed 51 assists.

Jackie Stabell led Colorado Mines (17-7, 10-5 RMAC) with 19 kills. Melanie Wannamaker added 14 kills and Elizabeth Serra-Hsu had 13.

The Mountain Lions set the stage for the upset with a come-from-behind win in the first set. Trailing 22-17, UCCS reeled off eight straight points including four blocks (two by Knizer and Nuttall and two by Kinzer and Sonja Johnson).

It was Mines that closed strong in the second set, scoring six of the final eight points to take a 25-19 decision.

A 7-1 run that included two kills by Nuttall gave UCCS a 12-9 lead in the third set. An 8-2 run shortly afterward extended the advantage to 22-14 when a late run by the Orediggers closed it to 23-20. A kill by Kinzer and a Mines attack error closed out UCCS' 25-20.

The Mountain Lions opened the fourth set with a 6-1 run before using a 9-3 spurt to make it 20-11. Mines had three two-point runs to close the set but had dug too deep a hole as the Mountain Lions took the set 25-18 and the match.