IRVINE, Calif. – A pair of 3-1 setbacks were handed to the University of Colorado Colorado Springs volleyball team on Saturday as they closed out the Concordia University Irvine Golden Eagle Invitational. The Mountain Lions started the morning facing California State University Dominguez Hills before ending the weekend against host team Concordia University Irvine in the evening match.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Final Score vs. Dominguez Hills: 1-3 (25-20, 17-25, 25-20, 17-25) | vs. Concordia: 1-3 (18-25, 23-25, 25-21, 16-25)
- Records: UCCS (0-4, 0-0 RMAC) | CSUDH (2-1, 0-0 CCAA) | CUI (3-1, 0-0 CCAA)
- Facility | Location: CU Arena | Irvine, Calif.
- All-Time Series: Today's matches between Dominguez Hills and Concordia are the first time in program history UCCS has faced either team.
HOW IT HAPPENED VS. DOMINGUEZ HILLS
- The Mountain Lions quickly tied the opening set with Dominguez Hills at 3-3 after starting the morning match in a 3-0 hole. Sydnee Walker's block on CSUDH gave UCCS their largest lead of the set, 11-5. Tied at 19-19 a few rallies later, UCCS forced two attacking errors on CSUDH while Lauryn Shockley put down three kills in the process. Maylen Mitrovich gave UCCS the 1-0 lead in the match when she ended the set with an ace.
- Raegen Emery connected with Shockley for a kill to open the second set. The Mountain Lions held the lead or kept the score tied with the Toros through the first nine rallies before CSUDH took their first lead of the set at 6-5. The Mountain Lions tied the score five more times but were unable to regain the lead as the gold and maroon squad tied the match at 1-1 with a 25-17 second set victory.
- The final two sets belonged to the Toros as they were able to keep the upper hand against UCCS. The Mountain Lions were unable to dig out of a 4-0 shortfall in the fourth set as CSUDH led by as many as 14 points, taking the final two sets by scores of 25-20 and 25-17.
MATCH STATISTICS VS. DOMINGUEZ HILLS
- Emery led all players with 11 kills behind Mitrovich's match high of 34 assists.
- Mitrovich also accounted for three of UCCS' four aces and dug up seven attacks.
- Walker chipped in nine kills, an ace and posted a team high of 19 digs.
- Medlin, who finished the match with four kills and two digs, blocked three attacks by CSUDH (two solo).
- The Mountain Lions hit .096 for the match with 47 kills and 45 set assists.
- The Toros notched 44 kills, eight aces and blocked UCCS 16 times. Teagan Irish assisted on seven blocks and blocked two herself as part of her eight kills, 13.5-point performance.
HOW IT HAPPENED VS. CONCORDIA
- Sophomore setter Joei Barela found Raegen Emery for a kill to start the evening match, giving the Mountain Lions a 1-0 lead over Concordia University Irvine. The lead would be the last for UCCS as CUI went on a 5-0 run and never trailed the rest of the set for a 25-18 win.
- No more than two points separated either team through the first nine rallies in the second set. Emery registered a kill to knot the set at 5-5 and spark a 6-1 run that featured two kills and an ace from Walker. Leading the Eagles 13-9, the home team quickly tied the set at 13-13 on a 4-0 run. Heading into the down stretch and tied at 21-21, CUI added two points on the scoreboard with a kill and ace. Facing set point and down by two, 24-22, Walker put down another kill to keep UCCS alive, but the Golden Eagles took set two, 25-23.
- Both teams continued to battle back and forth in the third set. Except for one rally, the biggest lead either team held was two points until the final stretch. Shockley registered a kill late in the set to tie the score at 21-21 that started a 5-0 run. After Shockley's kill, CUI committed two attacking errors forcing the home team to call a timeout. UCCS came out of the timeout with a kill from Geiger before she paired up with Shockley on the far-left side to block CUI's attack and take the win, 25-21.
- Barela started the fourth set with an ace, but the Golden Eagles Kennedy Farley scored the next three points for CUI on two kills and an ace to give her team the lead they would not relinquish. Barela notched six assists in the set paring with Walker three times, while Emery, Shockley and Strain each posted two kills. CUI's Kirra Schulz and Kennedy combined for nine points as the Golden Eagles took the fourth set and the match win, 25-16.
MATCH STATISTICS VS. CONCORDIA
- Walker paced the Mountain Lions offense with 14 kills and a .222 hitting mark on 36 attempts. She finished the match tying Emery with team high honors for most points scored (15.5). Emery finished the match totaling 12 kills, two aces, a career high 13 digs and three block assists.
- Barela assisted on a career high 40 kills to go with her 11 digs, two kills and ace.
- UCCS hit the ball at a .191 rate with 50 kills on 141 attacks. They added six blocks, five aces and dug up 63 attempts.
- Farley led both teams with 20.5 points, tallying 14 kills, five aces, 11 digs and three block assists.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Concordia University Irvine Golden Eagle Invitational is the first time in program history the Mountain Lions have played a preseason tournament in California.
- Through the opening weekend of action, Shockley has played in 105 career matches at UCCS and is just four matches shy of reaching the all-time top 10.
- Shockley started the season ranked ninth all-time in attacks with 2,535, but jumped up two spots after Friday's action and is now seventh for most attacks in a career with 2,638.
- Along with Barela's career high 40 assists tonight, she also dug up a career high 11 attacks against CUI.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions will open their home season Sept. 7-9 at the 12-match UCCS Mountain Lion Classic. UCCS will open the Classic against Western Oregon University on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 1 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.
