TOPEKA, Kan – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs (1-3) closed out the season opening weekend with two setbacks against Washburn University and William Jewell at the Washburn Volleyball Classic presented by the Topeka Capital Plaza Hotel. UCCS lost 3-1 to the Ichabods in the morning match, and 3-2 to WJU in their final match of the weekend.
In the opening match against host team Washburn University, UCCS trailed by two sets (-21, -19) before taking set three, 25-20. WU closed the match holding the Mountain Lions to 10 points.
UCCS' offense hit .191 at the net after accumulating 46 kills on 136 attempts.
Raelynn Edge set 39 of the team's 43 assists with
Taylor Smith and
Alyssa Brinton notching 12 and 11 kills each, respectively.
Jordyn Kinsey led the backline with 21 digs. Brinton and
Lauryn Shockley combined for 22 of the team's 60 digs.
UCCS served four aces, two of which came from Kinsey, but committed 10 reception errors.
In the final match of the weekend, the Mountain Lions earned a 25-23 win in set one against WJU, before the Cardinals tied the match in set two, 26-24. Trailing by one set heading into set four, the Mountain Lions went into overtime to tie the match with a 28-26 win. In the final set, WJU jumped to an 8-1 lead and finished outscoring UCCS, 15-8.
Smith and Brinton paced the offense with 14 kills each. Brinton committed only two errors to hit .289 at the net and dug up the second most attacks on the team with 17. Brown followed with 12 kills and a .292 hitting mark. Edge notched a match high 49 set assists to go with three aces and nine digs.
Kinsey dug up 24 attacks and served two aces. UCCS recorded six aces in the match and six blocks. Brown led the defense at the net with a solo block and two block assists.
UCCS will travel to St. George, Utah for the Dixie State/Desert Garden Inn by Wyndham Volleyball Classic August 30-Sept. 1. The Mountain Lions will face Adams State University on Thursday at 4:30 p.m., No. 18 Tarleton State University (11:30 a.m.) and Dixie State University (7 p.m.) on Friday, and Western New Mexico University on Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
