COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs opened their season with two wins against Cameron University and Fort Hays State University on Friday in the annual Mountain Lion Classic. UCCS collected a sweep (3-0) against Cameron and a win in four sets (3-1) over Fort Hays State.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
· Final score vs. Cameron: 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-14) | vs. Fort Hays State: 3-1 (25-18, 24-26, 25-20, 25-19)
· Records: UCCS (2-0, 0-0 RMAC) | CU (0-2, 0-0 LSC) | FHSU (1-1, 0-0 MIAA)
· Facility | Location: Gallogly Events Center | Colorado Springs, Colo.
· All-Time Series: Before UCCS' sweep over Cameron on Friday, the Aggies held a 3-0 record above the Mountain Lions. UCCS has faced Fort Hays State 19 times after Friday's win, grabbing their sixth win all-time over the Tigers.
HOW IT HAPPENED VS. CAMERON
· UCCS started the morning down early (4-3) in their first set versus the Aggies. They then rattled off four straight points, including kills from Emily Pruitt and Payton Tompkins, to take a 7-4 lead. From then on, the Mountain Lions pushed forward in control, taking a 10-point lead (24-14) late in the set. UCCS finished the job, coming out on top in the initial set, 25-16.
· The Mountain Lions kept the momentum going in the second set, grabbing an early 6-2 lead. Cameron kept the game within distance, but UCCS exploded for eight straight points to grow their lead to 22-9. The Aggies managed four more points, but the Mountain Lions sealed the second set, 25-13.
· Tompkins opened the third set with three straight kills off assists from Audrey Dowd. Later, UCCS enjoyed a 20-14 lead with ambitions of finishing the match with a sweep. Sydnee Walker notched a kill, which started the Mountain Lions on a 5-0 run to finish the set. Two straight attack errors from Cameron gave UCCS their final two points of the morning, completing the Mountain Lions sweep.
MATCH STATISTICS VS. CAMERON
· Walker led all attackers in the match with 11 kills, while Pruitt and Tompkins grabbed the second and third most kills with nine apiece. Walker led the match in aces with five total while nabbing the most points (16) for UCCS.
· Dowd led all setters in assists, collecting 23 total. Libero Mackenzie Ransom was everywhere on the court, tallying 13 digs from Aggie attacks.
· The Mountain Lions hit .372 for the match with 39 kills, 34 set assists, and nine aces.
· Cameron was held to just 22 kills, one ace, and a hitting percentage of .064 in the match.
HOW IT HAPPENED VS. FORT HAYS STATE
· The Mountain Lions started strong with a 6-1 lead in the first set, prompting an early timeout from FHSU. After the timeout, UCCS scored three straight points before Fort Hays went on their own 7-0 run, leading 9-8. The Tigers took a brief lead before the Mountain Lions went on a 7-0 run to go up 16-10. UCCS secured the set at 25-18, with points coming from FHSU errors and contributions from Payton Tompkins, Michelle Fredrick, and Avery Ahlers.
· FHSU started in control early in set two, going up 10-5 after a 6-0 run. UCCS replied, and the two teams traded blows, with leads switching frequently. Up 19-18, the Tigers began to pull away, growing their lead to 21-18, but UCCS had a response, evening the score at 22. Maylen Mitrovich grabbed UCCS a kill and the lead back to go up 24-23, but FHSU scored two straight to take a 25-24 lead. The Tigers then scored their set point on an attack error, winning 26-24 to even the match at one set apiece.
· Like the previous two sets, FHSU and UCCS opened the third neck-and-neck with the Mountain Lions leading 11-9. UCCS went on a 6-2 run with two points coming from Sydnee Walker kills to lead 17-11. Up 22-18, with the two teams trading the ball in a lengthy rally, Emily Pruitt, set up by Audrey Dowd, tipped it over the net and just passed the reach of two Tigers for the kill. Pruitt tallied a kill for the Mountain Lions next point, and UCCS won set three, 25-20.
· The last set rang a similar tone to the first three as FHSU and UCCS were tightly contested throughout the set. With the teams notched up at 14, UCCS would score the following three points on kills from Pruitt, Rylee Pitts, and a service ace from Mitrovich. From then on, the Mountain Lions handled business, finishing the set on an 8-5 run to capture the game 25-19 and two wins on day one of the Mountain Lion Classic.
MATCH STATISTICS VS. FORT HAYS STATE
· Pruitt led all attackers with 15 kills to go along with four digs, one solo block, a hit percentage of .133, and 16 points recorded.
· Tompkins and Walker each recorded double-digit kills with 12 and 10, respectively. Along with her 12 kills, Tompkins tabbed three assists, two solo blocks, 20 digs, and 14 points.
· UCCS had a hit percentage of .206, a total of 56 kills, and 48 assists. Dowd and Mitrovich were both double-digit assisters tonight with 25 and 14 assists, respectively. The Mountain Lion defense held strong in the win too as they recorded six solo blocks and 10 block assists.
· Four different Mountain Lions recorded service aces with those being Mitrovich (3), Mackenzie Ransom (2), Dowd (2), and Marcoso (1).
· Fort Hays had a hitting percentage of .131, 49 kills, 44 assists, and three service aces.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
· UCCS' sweep in game one of the Mountain Lion Classic was their first win of the year. The last time the Mountain Lions opened the season with a sweep came on August 24, 2018, when they swept Henderson State University at the Washburn Invitational in Topeka, Kan.
· The last time UCCS started a season 2-0 was in 2013 when they started 3-0 in a tournament in Canyon, Texas.
· The Mountain Lions got significant contributions from newcomers today. Players who made their UCCS debuts today include Payton Tompkins, Emily Pruitt, Audrey Dowd, Rylee Pitts, Michelle Fredrick, Addie Stephens, and Alysse Marcoso.
UP NEXT
· The Mountain Lion Classic closes out tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 7, as UCCS takes on the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith at 11:15 a.m. The Mountain Lions will then finish the tournament with a matchup against the University of Mary at 3:45 p.m. Arkansas-Fort Worth went 2-0 on day one while UMary went 0-2.
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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.
