SALT LAKE CITY, Utah. – Strong play on both sides of the net led the University of Colorado Colorado Springs volleyball team to a 3-1 win Saturday evening at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah. The win snaps a tie with WC for 10
th place in the conference standings
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Final: 3-1 (25-20, 25-16, 22-25, 25-21)
- Records: UCCS (9-11, 4-8 RMAC) | WC (5-15, 3-9 RMAC)
- Facility | Location: Benken Fieldhouse | Salt Lake City, Utah
- All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions have won 10 of the 11 matches against Westminster.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Mountain Lions came back from a 4-1 deficit to open this evening's match and went on a 6-1 run to take a 7-5 lead. The last three points scored in the run came by way of Clara Benskin who posted two solo blocks and a kill. Hannah Ammerman broke a 12-12 tie with a kill followed by an attacking error from the Griffins that gave UCCS a 14-12 lead they would not relinquish as they rolled to a 25-20 set one win.
- Raegen Emery started the second set with a kill from Joei Barela's assist, followed by an attack error from Westminster that gave UCCS a 2-0 advantage. The Griffins put down two kills to knot the set at 2-2, but a service error by the home team gave UCCS a 3-2 lead they would hold onto the remainder of the set. The Mountain Lions tallied 10 kills and added four aces to win the second set, 25-16.
- The Griffins avoided the sweep with a 25-22 win in set three. UCCS held a comfortable 10-5 lead before an 11-2 run by the Griffins gave them a 16-12 lead. WC used three kills, two blocks and forced UCCS to commit four errors as part of the run. Now facing a five-point deficit, 18-13, the Mountain Lions regained control behind three straight aces from Mackenzie Ransom to knot the set at 18-all. Both teams would tie each other three more times, but the Griffins put the set away, outscoring UCCS 4-1 to end the set.
- The fourth and final set of the evening featured 16 scoring ties and six lead changes and a strong offensive attack by the Mountain Lions. With the set tied at 21-21, a bad set by the Griffins broke the tie before Ammerman and Geiger notched back-to-back kills, forcing WC to call a timeout on match point for UCCS, 24-21. A kill by the Griffins brought them within two points, but Ammerman put the match away with a kill, sealing the win (25-22) and the 3-1 match win.
MATCH STATISTICS
- Ammerman led the offensive attack in the fourth set, tallying seven kills on nine attempts for a .778 hitting mark. As a team, UCCS hit .517 at the net behind 16 kills and just one error on 29 attempts in the final set.
- Ammerman posted a match high 16 kills and finished the night hitting .433 on 30 attempts. Geiger added 11 kills and a .400 hitting mark as both Ammerman and Geiger dug up five attacks.
- Babcock accounted for 25 of UCCS' 40 set assists. She added three kills, 10 digs and an ace. In the fourth set of the match, she registered 11 of her 25 assists.
- Jordyn Kinsey led both teams with 14 digs and she served up three aces. Ransom recorded a career high four aces to go with eight digs.
- UCCS hit .201 offensively with 48 kills on 139 attempts. The Mountain Lions served 10 aces against the Griffins and added 10 blocks and 58 digs.
- Olivia Curtis led Westminster with 15 kills, seven digs and three aces.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- After reaching career highs in assists and digs last night at Colorado Mesa University, Barela attempted a career high 11 attacks tonight.
- Benskin blocked a career high two attempts tonight, both of which were solo blocks. Also adding to the career high block total tonight was Tori Perduk with four (solo) blocks.
- Three of Ransom's career high four aces tonight came in the third set.
- Babcock has 32 aces this season and is five away from breaking into the top-10 list for most aces in a season by a freshman.
- Kinsey is inching her way up in the career record books with digs. Her 242 digs this season brings her career total to 1,605. She is just 83 digs away from stepping into the No. 3 spot in the record book.
- The 10 aces against the Griffins marks the fourth time this season UCCS has served at least 10 aces, and the 10 blocks tonight are the second most this season.
UP NEXT
- After playing the last six matches on the road, the Mountain Lions return home to Gallogly Events Center Oct. 21-22. UCCS will play host to Chadron State College on Oct. 21 at 7 p.m., and Colorado School of Mines on Oct. 22 at 3 p.m.
SOCIAL
Twitter - @GoMountainLions
Instagram - @gomountainlions
Facebook – Go Mountain Lions
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.
