COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – University of Colorado Colorado Springs junior middle blocker Taylor Hamilton finished with a career-high 20 kills for the second straight match and added six blocks as the Mountain Lions (8-5, 3-2 RMAC) earned a 3-2 victory against New Mexico Highlands (5-5, 2-3 RMAC) at the Gallogly Events Center. UCCS won in 18-25, 25-18, 25-12, 25-27 and 15-4 sets.

Hamilton hit .487 for the ninth-best performance in a five-set match in UCCS history. Alyssa Brinton added 14 kills with four service aces and four blocks. Morgan Evans made 52 assists in her third straight match with 50-or-more assists. Natasha Habert made 24 digs on the back line.

New Mexico Highlands used an 8-1 run in the first set and took the set 25-18 to take the early 1-0 match advantage. The Mountain Lions reversed the score to even the match with a 25-18 second set win. Hamilton made eight of her kills in the second set and hit .727.

UCCS put together a 9-1 rally in the third set and scored six of the last seven points for a 25-12 victory. The Mountain Lions scored the first six points of the fourth set and reached match point at 24-22, but the Cowgirls rallied to take the set at 27-25 and even the match at 2-2.

The Mountain Lions hit .688 in the fifth set with no attacking errors and scored 11 of their 15 points on kills to cruise to a 15-4 win in the final set to claim the win. Brinton finished the match with a service ace for the second straight home win for UCCS.

Cassidy Bush made 11 kills with three blocks and Lauren Brown rounded out the top offensive leaders with 10 kills and a .429 hitting percentage. UCCS hit .259 as a team in the best performance a conference match since Oct. 24, 2015.

The Mountain Lions will be back at the Gallogly Events Center on Saturday for a 5 p.m., match against Colorado State-Pueblo. The ThunderWolves (5-9, 3-2 RMAC) lost 3-0 tonight to MSU Denver.