SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs volleyball team battled back from a 2-0 deficit Saturday afternoon at Westminster University to send the match to five sets, but the Griffins prevailed on their home court as the Mountain Lions fall in five.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Final Score vs. Westminster: 1-3 (24-26, 18-25, 25-15, 25-20, 9-15)
- Records: UCCS (5-12, 3-4 RMAC) | WU (7-12, 4-5 RMAC)
- Facility | Location: Behnken Fieldhouse | Salt Lake City, Utah
- All-Time Series: In 12 meetings between UCCS and Westminster, the Mountain Lions have won 10 of the 12 matches.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Mountain Lions entered Behnken Fieldhouse and took offensive control of the opening set. A Griffins attack error opened the set before UCCS put down two kills and an ace to take an early 4-2 lead. Sydnee Walker registered one of her four kills in the set to give UCCS an 8-4 advantage, but the Griffins went on a 4-0 run to knot the game at 8-8. The Mountain Lions were holding onto a decent 21-17 lead heading into the final stretch of the first set, but the home team went on a 5-0 run to take their first lead of the set, 22-21. Lauryn Shockley and Raegen Emery hammered down kills to tie the set at 22-22 and 23-all, respectively, but Westminster held the upper hand and finished the set off with back-to-back kills and a 26-24 decision.
- The Mountain Lions and Griffins battled each other closely in the second set with neither team leading by more than two points in the opening action. Nicole Medlin's kill broke a 7-7 knot and sparked a 5-1 run that featured two kills from Shockley and one each from Medlin and Emery that boosted UCCS' lead to four, 12-8. The purple and yellow reacted to the deficit and went on a 6-1 run of their own that saw the Griffins secure three kills and blocked two UCCS attacks. Both teams continued to answer each other's offensive output, but the Griffins capitalized on two UCCS errors and added two kills and an ace to end the set on a 5-1 run and a 25-18 win.
- Facing a 2-0 deficit for the third straight match, the Mountain Lions again battled back to win the third set. The opening rallies were tightly contested before the Mountain Lions pulled away to own the set. With a 9-6 lead, UCCS piled on to the lead with a 7-0 run after forcing the Griffins to commit five errors combined with an Emery and Geiger block, an ace from Shockley and another kill from Walker that gave UCCS a commanding 15-6 lead. Westminster was able to string together three points later in the set that cut into UCCS' lead, 17-10, but the Mountain Lions kept their distance from the home team as Shockley tallied two kills to end the set, 25-15.
- Taking a 5-2 lead to open the fourth set of the afternoon, the Mountain Lions saw their lead quickly swallowed up by a 5-0 Griffins run. The two squads swapped leads throughout the set before a huge run by UCCS gave them a lead they would not relinquish. Head coach Tara Hittle called a timeout with her team down 15-13 and the Mountain Lions responded with a 7-1 run. UCCS took advantage of two Westminster errors before Geiger (kill), Walker (kill) and Shockley (ace) put points on the scoreboard for UCCS, followed by back-to-back WU setting errors that gave UCCS a 20-16 lead. Three different Mountain Lions registered a kill for the final three points as UCCS tied the match at 2-2 with a 25-20 set four victory.
- Westminster caught a 3-0 lead to start the fifth and final set and never looked back as they didn't allow UCCS to come within two points of the lead. The Mountain Lions were held to four kills while the home team registering 10 kills, two blocks and a .250 attacking mark to cinch the match win and a 15-9 fifth set win.
MATCH STATISTICS
- Shockley was on fire for the black and gold, accounting for a match high 19 kills and the second most digs with 17. She hit .259 and added three aces and three assists.
- Medlin was errorless at the net, hitting an astounding .650 behind 13 kills and 20 attacks.
- Walker chipped in 12 kills and 16 digs as Mackenzie Ransom defended the back line with a match high 18 digs.
- Joei Barela and Maylen Mitrovich tag-teamed to account for 43 of UCCS' 54 assists.
- As a team, the Mountain Lions registered 60 kills on 159 attempts, hit .264 and added 54 assists, six aces, 74 digs and five blocks.
- The Griffins were led by Regan Jackson's team high 14 kills and .542 hitting mark.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Medlin set a new program record for the highest attack percentage in a five-set match. Medlin put down 13 kills on 20 attempts (no errors) for a .650 hitting mark.
- Shockley set new season highs for UCCS in kills (19), total attempts (54) and points (22).
- Ransom's career high 18 digs tonight are the second most this season in a five-set match.
- UCCS moves to 1-3 this season in five set matches.
- Emery's 14 digs are a new career high.
- Shockley moved up to seventh all-time in the career record books in aces (100) and points (1,234), and she is tied for second all-time in matches played (118).
UP NEXT
- UCCS will return home October 20-21 to take on Western Colorado University and Fort Lewis College, respectively.
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 14 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
