COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Taylor Hamilton led the University of Colorado Colorado Springs with 15 kills and Lauren Brown added seven blocks as the Mountain Lions earned a 3-2 victory against Black Hills State in the Gallogly Events Center. UCCS (13-8, 8-5 RMAC) won in 25-15, 21-25, 20-25, 25-18 and 15-10 scores against the Yellow Jackets (6-15, 4-9 RMAC).

Alyssa Brinton made 11 kills with 12 digs and five blocks. Natasha Habert led the back row with 17 digs. Morgan Evans led both teams with 40 assists and improved her career total to 2,581. She needs 185 to tie for third in program records.

UCCS scored the first four points of the night and used a 7-0 run midway through the opening frame to lead the entire first set in a 25-15 victory. The Mountain Lions recorded their best hitting percentage of the night at the start with .379 in the first set, led by five kills from Brinton.

Black Hills State evened the match with a 25-21 decision in the second set and continued the momentum with the first eight points in the third set. The Mountain Lions tied the set at 15-15 after a block from Brinton and Brown but couldn't take the lead as the Yellow Jackets opened a 2-1 match lead on the 25-20 win.

UCCS limited the Black Hills State rallies in the fourth set and only allowed the Yellow Jackets to rallies four times in the set. Hamilton made four of the team's 12 kills in the set as the Mountain Lions forced the deciding fifth set in a 25-18 victory.

The Mountain Lions started the fifth set with a 5-1 run but the Yellow Jackets rallied to within a point at 8-7. After a timeout, UCCS scored the next three points to regain an 11-7 lead and kept Black Hills State to single points the rest of the set to claim the match win in a 15-10 set score.

The win kept UCCS in the mix for a potential home conference tournament match and in a tie for fifth after Adams State's win tonight against Colorado State-Pueblo. The Mountain Lions and Grizzlies are a half-match behind fourth-place Regis with five matches left in the regular season.

UCCS will finish the 2016 regular season home schedule on Saturday in a 5 p.m., contest against South Dakota Mines. The Hardrockers (1-23, 0-13 RMAC) fell 3-0 to MSU Denver earlier tonight.