RAPID CITY, S.D. – Defense kept the playoff hopes alive for the University of Colorado Colorado Springs volleyball team as they picked up a critical 3-1 win tonight at South Dakota School of Mines behind 80 digs and 10 blocks. The win moves UCCS to .500 overall (12-12) and puts them in a tie for seventh place in the standings with South Dakota Mines at 7-9 in conference matches.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Final: 3-1 (25-19, 25-17, 18-25, 25-15)
- Records: UCCS (12-12, 7-9 RMAC) | SDSM (10-14, 7-9 RMAC)
- Facility | Location: King Center | Rapid City, S.D.
- All-Time Series: UCCS is 9-2 all-time against the Hardrockers. Tonight's win breaks a two-match winning streak by SDSM.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Both teams came out of the gate battling back and forth with three scoring ties in the first six rallies. Tori Perduk broke a 3-3 tie that sparked a 5-0 run by the Mountain Lions, topped off by an ace from Joei Barela to give UCCS an 8-3 lead they kept for the remainder of the set. The Mountain Lions scored three of the last four points to win set one, 25-19.
- The second stanza was kept tight between the Mountain Lions and Hardrockers as neither team led by more than two points in the first half of the set. Trailing 6-4 early on, Hannah Ammerman put down a kill followed by three straight attacking errors from the Hardrockers to give UCCS the lead, 8-6. SDM jumped back on top of UCCS as UCCS committed two errors before Lily Bartling registered a kill for a 16-14 SDM lead. The Mountain Lions responded with two kills from Ammerman, a Hadrocker error and a kill from Julia Geiger as UCCS regained the lead, 18-16. The Mountain Lions capped off the second stanza with five straight points as Geiger, Reilly Babcock and Ammerman (two) tallied kills before Barela finished the set with an ace and a 25-17 UCCS win.
- The home team took control of the third stanza, preventing the sweep with a 25-18 win. UCCS held a one-point lead for one rally, 2-1, but SDSM came out with a 5-2 run and clutched onto the lead to take the set. The Hardrockers posted 12 kills and hit .231 at the net while adding three blocks. UCCS knocked down 10 kills but committed seven attacking errors and four service errors in the setback.
- The fourth and final set started out the same as the opening two sets with four scoring ties and one lead change before the Mountain Lions put together a dominant performance to win the match, 3-1. A SDM ball handling error freed up a 4-4 tie before Nicole Medlin and Raegen Emery added two points on the scoreboard with kills. A service error by the Hardrockers capped off a 3-1 run to give UCCS the lead as they never trailed again. Perduk led the Mountain Lions on a 6-0 run to boost the visiting team's lead to seven, 14-7. Perduk started the run with three straight points off two kills and a block. Two rallies later she paired up with Geiger for another block as Kinsey served up a dagger for the sixth straight point. Perduk put the finishing touches on the match with her second solo block to award the Mountain Lions a 25-15 set win.
MATCH STATISTICS
- Ammerman led both teams with 11 kills and 41 attempts while digging up 20 attacks.
- Emery matched Ammerman's match high 11 kills and hit .233 on 30 attempts.
- Geiger finished the match with nine kills and a solid .353 hitting mark, paired with three assists and five blocks.
- Four Mountain Lions notched double digit kills, led by Jordyn Kinsey's team high 21 digs.
- Babcock chipped in 19 digs and 20 set assists as Barela mirrored Babcock with 20 assists and added three aces.
- UCCS dug up a season high 80 attacks and tied their second most blocks this season with 10.
- The Hardrockers were held to a .087 hitting mark with 40 kills and 27 errors on 154 attempts.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Ammerman and Babcock recorded career highs in digs with 20 and 19, respectively.
- Geiger's five blocks (all assisted) and three assists were career highs, while Perduk attempted a career high 19 attacks.
- Geiger and Perduk also set career highs with four blocks each.
- Kinsey's 21 digs are a season high for the Mountain Lions while Ammerman's 41 attempts are the most for UCCS this season in a four-set match.
- Babcock is second in the record books for most assists in a season by a freshman (645). From the service line, she has accounted for 34 aces and needs three more to enter the top 10 list for most aces in a season by a Mountain Lion freshman.
- Kinsey's 21 digs today put her career total to 1,661, just 27 shy of the No. 3 seat in the all-time program record book.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions close out the regular season portion of the schedule at home on Nov. 4-5. UCCS will play host to MSU Denver Friday night at 7 p.m., before facing Colorado Christian University on Saturday at 3 p.m. on Senior Day.
SOCIAL
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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.
