DENVER, Colo. – Starting a four-match road trip Friday night, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs volleyball team faced the No. 8 team in Division II, falling in three sets at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Final Score vs. #8 MSU Denver: 0-3 (17-25, 17-25, 18-25)
- Records: UCCS (7-16, 5-6 RMAC) | MSUD (17-5, 9-1 RMAC)
- Facility | Location: Auraria Event Center | Denver, Colo.
- All-Time Series: MSU Denver leads the all-time series against UCCS, 47-6.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Mountain Lions went on the offensive attack early in the opening set, using a 5-2 run to break a 2-2 tie. Maylen Mitrovich started the run with a kill followed by a duo block from Julia Geiger and Lauryn Shockley as Raegen Emery finished a rally with a kill as UCCS snagged their largest lead of the night, 7-4. The Mountain Lions found themselves down by five, 14-9, before a kill from Mitrovich and two more from Shockley brought the Mountain Lions within two points, 14-12, but the Roadrunners kept their lead and ended the set on a 4-1 run to win the opening frame, 25-17.
- Eighth-ranked MSU Denver turned on the offensive jets in the second set for 14 kills and a staggering .357 hitting percentage. Tied early on in the stanza at 2-2, the Roadrunners jumped on a 13-2 run fueled by five kills while forcing UCCS to commit five errors. The Mountain Lions cut into the Roadrunners lead and came within seven points, 21-14, but the Roadrunners held off UCCS from a late comeback to take set two, 25-17.
- The Mountain Lions found themselves down 8-2 early in the third set but clawed back and tied the set at 9-9 after a 7-1 explosion, highlighted by kills from Julia Geiger, Shockley and Emery, an ace from Mitrovich and back-to-back attack errors by the Roadrunners. A second tie in the set, 10-10, was quickly snapped by the home team after two straight kills and two straight aces that put UCCS in a 14-10 deficit. The Roadrunners held off the black and gold to win set three, 25-18, and take the match in three sets.
MATCH STATISTICS
- Shockley paced the Mountain Lions behind a match high 10 kills and she added eight digs.
- Sydnee Walker was a threat at the net, putting down eight kills and committed only one error on 19 attacks for a .369 hitting mark.
- Mitrovich accounted for 24 of the Mountain Lions 32 assists and one of two team aces.
- Mackenzie Ransom tallied UCCS' other ace and dug up a team high 12 attacks.
- UCCS finished the set with 33 kills and hit .196 to go with four blocks, 40 digs and 32 assists.
- Riley Anderson matched Shockley with a match high 10 kills and hit .231. Rylee Hladky added nine kills, seven digs and a .533 hitting mark.
- MSU Denver notched 46 kills as a team and hit .320 offensively while blocking three attacks and posting 49 digs.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Mountain Lions recorded one of their best three-set matches of the season. As a team, the black and gold registered the third most digs (40) and the fourth most attacks (102) in a three-set match.
- Shockley's 33 attempts are the most by any Mountain Lion this season in a three-set outing, and her 10 kills are tied for the fourth most.
- Ransom's 12 digs are the third highest this season while Mitrovich's 24 assists are the fourth most.
UP NEXT
- UCCS will play at Colorado School of Mines on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 5 p.m.
SOCIAL
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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.
