RAPID CITY, S.D. – Competing in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Power Pod, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs volleyball team was swept Thursday evening in Rapid City, S.D. by South Dakota School of Mines. Today's RMAC Power Pod match against SDM, and tomorrow's neutral site match against Fort Lewis College will count toward the Mountain Lions overall record but are non-conference matches.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Final Score vs. South Dakota Mines: 0-3 (17-25, 21-25, 19-25)
- Records: UCCS (7-13, 5-4 RMAC) | SDSM (14-7, 7-3 RMAC)
- Facility | Location: King Center | Rapid City, S.D.
- All-Time Series: UCCS leads the all-time series against the Hardrockers, 10-3.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The home team owned the opening set in Thursday's RMAC Power Pod. A service ace by the Hardrockers tied the set at 1-1, but it would prove to be the closest the Mountain Lions would get within reach of South Dakota Mines as the Hardrockers held the lead for the remainder of the set. SDSM, which led by as many as 10 points, 21-12, posted 16 kills to UCCS' nine on their way to a 25-17 win.
- The Mountain Lions battled tight with the Hardrockers in the second set but fell short, 25-21. UCCS took their first lead of the night after Raegen Emery put down a kill followed by an attack error from the Hardrockers that put UCCS up, 2-1. Over the next six rallies, the Hardrockers would tie the Mountain Lions before UCCS would take a one-point lead. The cycle eventually stopped when South Dakota Mines went on a 5-1 run to take a 9-6 lead. The black and gold responded with a kill from Lauryn Shockley and two more from Julia Geiger as part of a 4-1 run that tied the set at 10-10. Another kill by Shockley later in the set evened the score at 16-all, but the Hardrockers used three kills, two aces and committed UCCS to commit four errors to end the set on a 9-5 advantage and a 25-21 score in favor of the home team.
- South Dakota Mines held the upper hand early on in the third set holding a lead over UCCS, but the Mountain Lions turned on the offense to flip the script on SDSM. Trailing 4-3, Emery, Sydnee Walker and Nicole Medlin put down three kills as the Mountain Lions defense forced two attacking errors to give UCCS a 7-5 lead. Both teams exchanged the lead until South Dakota Mines broke a 13-13 lead and went on a 5-1 run, snagging an 18-14 lead they would not relinquish. SDSM ended the match on a 5-2 run after outscoring UCCS in the final set, 13-11 in kills and a .233 hitting mark to UCCS' .194 attack percentage.
MATCH STATISTICS
- Medlin and Walker paced UCCS with a team high nine kills each. Medlin committed only one attacking error on 15 attempts for a .533 hitting mark. Walker followed with only error on 17 attempts to post a .471 attacking percentage.
- Shockley accounted for both of UCCS aces as she added seven kills and five digs.
- Mackenzie Ransom led the back row defense with a team high 11 digs.
- Joei Barela and Maylen Mitrovich combined for 31 of UCCS' 35 set assists. Barela posted 17 assists and added three digs as Mitrovich accounted for 14 assists.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Tonight marked the second time this season UCCS has faced the Hardrockers. The Mountain Lions swept SDSM on Sept. 14 at home in the first conference match of the season.
- Shockley has now cemented her name in the record books, as she is the all-time leader in career matches played in school history (121).
- The six-year member of the program moved up the career record books tonight in kills (fourth, 1,101), aces (sixth, 105), and sets played (fifth, 442).
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions will wrap up the RMAC Power Pod tomorrow with a neutral site match against Fort Lewis at 3 p.m.
SOCIAL
Twitter -
@GoMountainLions
Instagram -
@gomountainlions
Facebook –
/GoMountainLions
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.
