COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - University of Colorado Colorado Springs junior libero broke the program season digs record with 24 tonight and senior setter
Morgan Evans made 53 assists as the Mountain Lions advanced to the RMAC semifinals with a 3-1 quarterfinal win tonight against Colorado Christian. The Mountain Lions (18-9) will play No. 2 seed Colorado Mines on Friday at 5 p.m., at the Auraria Event Center on the campus of MSU Denver.
Habert improved her season total to 540 digs tonight and passed Andrea Weedman's mark of 526 set in the 2005 season. She is fifth in career records with 1,320 and needs 86 to tie for fourth.
The Mountain Lions put together a 7-0 run in the first set and finished the set on an 8-1 run to easily claim a 25-12 victory against the Cougars (20-10). UCCS led 21-17 in the second set before Colorado Christian tied it up at 22-22 on a 5-1 run. The Mountain Lions scored the final three points to take a 2-0 match led on a 25-22 set victory.
UCCS put together an 8-1 run midway through the third set to turn a 12-10 deficit into an 18-13 lead with four kills, two service aces and a block. Colorado Christian responded with five straight points to tie the set at 18-18 and the Mountain Lions rebuilt a lead at 22-19. The Cougars reached set point at 24-22 with a five-point rally, and
Taylor Smith made it a one-point set against with a kill but Colorado Christian closed out the set with its own kill for the 25-23 decision.
The teams tied 10 times in the fourth set and dealt with an extended break in the action as Colorado Christian held a 14-12 lead at the time. After the break, UCCS went on a 5-1 run to take a 17-15 advantage before the Cougars tied it at 17-17. The Mountain Lions gradually opened a lead and held match point at 24-22, but Colorado Christian held off the end of the night with a pair of kills to the tie set again at 24-24.
Alyssa Brinton and
Grace Nelson made back-to-back kills to secure the 26-24 win and the 3-1 match victory in the first postseason victory for the Mountain Lions since 2007.
Evans improved her season assist total to 1,191 tonight and is 24 away from fourth in program history. She added 11 digs, four kills and three blocks for the Mountain Lions.
Brinton finished with a match-high 20 kills and hit .304 with eight digs. Nelson matched her season-high with 15 kills to lead the reserves.
Lauren Brown made five blocks to lead the Mountain Lions.
UCCS is in the conference semifinals for the first time since the Mountain Lions made a run to the championship match in 2007. The Mountain Lions won tonight in the first home playoff match in program history.
Colorado Mines needed five sets to win its quarterfinal match against Adams State at home tonight. The Orediggers claimed a 3-0 match when UCCS and Colorado Mines met the only time this season on Oct. 22, 2016, in the Gallogly Events Center.
