DENVER - All of this pulling rank is starting to get tiresome.

Behind 12 kills each by Sonja Johnson and Megan Koop, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs won for the first time in three tries at the prestigious Colorado Premier Challenge volleyball tournament with a 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-22, 25-18) win over the Lock Haven Eagles Saturday afternoon.

It was also the first time in three games at the tournament that the Mountain Lions weren't facing a team listed on this week's national poll. Friday's losses came at the hands of No. 4 Washburn and West Florida, which was listed as "also receiving votes" in the rankings.

In fact, all four of UCCS' losses have come to teams listed among the nation's best. The three times UCCS has won, the opponent wasn't ranked.

The problem with that, obviously, is that the Mountain Lions want to be one of those ranked teams. To get there, they have to beat other ranked teams. They won't get that chance Saturday as their final opponent, Nebraska-Omaha, is unranked as it transitions to Division I.

UCCS trailed by as many as five in its first set against Lock Haven before putting together a 13-4 rally to take a 21-17 lead.  The Eagles managed to pull even at 23, but kills by Johnson and Laura Loosbrock gave UCCS the first set.

Lock Haven (2-5) evened the match by closing the second set with an 8-2 run. Gao Xuan had four of her match-high 21 kills in the set.

The Eagles led by as many as four in the third set, the last time at 16-12. A kill by UCCS setter Cindy Bathelt made it 16-13, and then Bathelt proceeded to serve UCCS to five more points and an 18-16 advantage. Lock Haven closed to within one three times but couldn't pull even as UCCS took the set 25-22.

UCCS' net game forced four hitting errors early in the fourth set at the Mountain Lions opened an 11-6 lead. After the Eagles closed to 11-9, Alex Wood's service game led the Mountain Lions on an eight-point run to take a commanding 19-9 lead. Kills by Wood and Nikki Kinzer closed out the 25-18 set win and the match.

Wood had nine kills for the Mountain Lions, Kinzer had seven and Loosbrock, Bathelt and Jenica Shippy had five each. Bathelt had 37 assists and Skylar Lewandowski had 20 digs.