DENVER, Colo. – The No. 3 ranked team in Division ended the University of Colorado Colorado Springs' volleyball regular season with a sweep. The Mountain Lions fell on the road to MSU Denver Wednesday night at Auraria Event Center in Denver, Colo.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: UCCS 0, No. 3 MSU Denver 3 (20-25, 22-25, 20-25)
Records: UCCS (4-9, 4-7 RMAC), MSU Denver (13-1, 11-1 RMAC)
Location: MSUD Auraria Event Center | Denver, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Roadrunners hold a 42-6 all-time series lead. The last win over the Roadrunners by UCCS was a home sweep on Nov. 14, 2015.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Mountain Lions were edged in the opening set, 25-20. UCCS trailed by one point heading into the final stretch, 20-19, but three errors by the Mountain Lions combined with two kills from MSU Denver gave the Roadrunners a 1-0 advantage in the match.
- UCCS kept the second set closer with the Roadrunners. The Mountain Lions last led in the set, 10-9, but tallied six ties the remainder of the set. Again, the Mountain Lions only trailed by one point, 22-21, but two kills and an ace by the third-ranked team in the country sealed the win in the second set, 25-22.
- In the final set, the Mountain Lions trailed the Roadrunners by eight points, 23-15, but forced MSU Denver to commit five attack errors. The Roadrunners eventually put the set and match away, sealing the win with a kill.
STATS FROM THE MATCH
- Maren Burkhart led UCCS with nine kills and nine digs. She hit a solid .300 at the night on 20 attempts.
- Lauryn Shockley added nine kills, three digs and two block assists while hitting .167.
- Emily Ettel notched 27 of the Mountain Lions 30 set assists. She added two kills, four digs and an ace.
- Defensively, Grace Ferguson led UCCS with three block assists as libero Jordyn Kinsey dug up nine attacks.
- MSU Denver's Avaline Lai led both squads with 11 kills. Lai hit .476 after committing only one attack error on 21 attempts.
- The Mountain Lions finished the match with 34 kills, a .141 hitting percentage, and 31 digs.
- The Roadrunners hit .3
- 22 at the net with 41 kills on 87 attempts. MSU Denver added six blocks, five aces and 33 digs.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Tonight's loss ends the Mountain Lions season in ninth place overall with a 4-9 overall record (4-7 RMAC). The is the first time in six seasons (2013) the Mountain Lions have not qualified for the RMAC Tournament.
- Lauryn Shockly led UCCS with 3.08 kills per set and 182.5 total points.
- Emily Ettel averaged 8.72 assists per set. She accounted for 462 of the Mountain Lions 546 assists.
- Defensively, Jordyn Kinsey led the back row with 188 digs (3.84 average). At the net, Grace Ferguson blocked 37 attacks, an average of 0.84 per set.
- This season, UCCS went 0-4 in three-set matches, 1-3 in four set matches and 3-2 in five set matches.
SOCIAL
Twitter – @GoMountainLions
Instagram – @gomountainlions
Facebook – /GoMountainLions
As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 16 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.