URANGO, Colo. – University of Colorado Colorado Springs junior middle blocker
Taylor Hamilton hit .593 in the fourth-best hitting percentage in program history as the Mountain Lions (7-4, 2-1 RMAC) earned a 3-1 win at Fort Lewis tonight at Whalen Gymnasium. The Mountain Lions earned the victory with 25-23, 25-10, 17-25 and 29-27 set decisions against the Skyhawks (3-8, 2-1 RMAC).
Hamilton made 18 kills with only two errors on 27 attack attempts tonight.
Alyssa Brinton added 14 kills with 17 digs, and
Natasha Habert led the defense with 21 digs.
Morgan Evans finished with 51 assists in her third match with 50 or more assists in the last five matches.
Fort Lewis scored seven straight points in the first set to take a 10-7 lead before UCCS responded with six straight points later in the set to retake the lead at 15-12. The Skyhawks tied it back up at 16-16 and led 23-22 before Hamilton sparked the set-winning run with a kill as the Mountain Lions took the first set 25-23. UCCS hit .464 as a team in the second set to easily take a 2-0 match lead with a 25-15 win in the set.
The Skyhawks dominated the early part of the third set and ran out to a 17-3 lead. The Mountain Lions put together a pair of four-point rallies but Fort Lewis took the set 25-17. The fourth set featured 14 ties and six lead changes, and Fort Lewis held set point at 24-22. UCCS scored three straight points off of kills from
Grace Nelson,
Cassidy Bush and Hamilton to reach match point at 25-24. The Skyhawks regained set point at 27-26 before Hamilton scored two of the final three points with kills to secure the win for the Mountain Lions on the 29-27 win.
Hamilton made seven of her 18 kills in the fourth set and accounted for four of the final five points the Mountain Lions scored tonight. It's her third straight match with double-digit kills. Evans improved her career total to 2,127 assists and needs 24 assists to tie for sixth in program records.
UCCS will travel back east for a 7 p.m., match on Saturday at Adams State. The Grizzlies (7-5, 2-1 RMAC) fell 3-0 to MSU Denver earlier tonight