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Isaiah J. Downing

2025 UCCS Volleyball Season Recap

12/30/2025 12:00:00 PM

2025 UCCS VOLLEYBALL SEASON RECAP  
  • The 2025 season marked a historic year for the University of Colorado Colorado Springs volleyball program, highlighted by the program's first-ever Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Regular Season Championship and a No. 2 seed in the 2025 NCAA South Central Regional Tournament.
  • The Mountain Lions faced an early test in the season opener but rallied for a five-set victory over St. Mary's University in Honolulu, Hawaii. That win ignited an 11-match winning streak to open the season, including three consecutive conference victories. UCCS began RMAC play with a home sweep of Colorado School of Mines, snapping an 18-match losing streak to the Orediggers. Two matches later, the Mountain Lions defeated then–ranked No. 24 Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Colo., ending an eight-match skid against the Mavericks and securing just the third road win in program history at CMU.
  • Following the victory over the nationally ranked Mavericks, UCCS dropped two of its next three matches before rebounding with a 14-match winning streak. The Mountain Lions' run ended with a sweep loss to No. 9 and top-seeded Metropolitan State University of Denver in the RMAC Championship match on Nov. 22. The historic season concluded on Dec. 4, when No. 2-seeded UCCS fell in five sets to No. 7 seed Colorado School of Mines in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.
 
AWARD WINNERS  
  • Audrey Dowd: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
  • Michelle Fredrick: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
  • Kinley Gomez: RMAC Honorable Mention
  • Sydney Hyde: All-RMAC Second Team
  • Alysse Marcoso: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
  • Nicole Martin: D2CCA All-Region Second Team, All-RMAC First Team, RMAC Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 29, Nov. 3)
  • Maylen Mitrovich: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll, All-RMAC Second Team, RMAC Setter of the Week (Nov. 3)
  • Mackenzie Ransom: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll, RMAC Honorable Mention
  • Payton Tompkins: CSC Academic All-District, AVCA All-America Honorable Mention, AVCA All-Region First Team, All-RMAC First Team, Academic All-RMAC First Team, RMAC Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 27)
  • Sydnee Walker: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll, RMAC Honorable Mention
 
STAT LEADERS  
  • UCCS put together one of the most impressive seasons in program history, establishing itself as one of the RMAC's premier teams on both sides of the net. The Mountain Lions ranked second in the conference in kills per set (13.6) and assists per set (12.5), while their defense limited opponents to the second-lowest hitting percentage in the league (.159). UCCS also finished third in the RMAC in team hitting percentage (.240) and aces per set (1.6), showcasing a balanced and efficient attack throughout the season.
  • That consistency translated to a remarkable 26–4 overall record, the second-best mark in the RMAC (.867 winning percentage), trailing only NCAA National Champion MSU Denver. Nationally, UCCS' win-loss percentage ranked sixth across all of Division II.
  • Several individual performances highlighted the Mountain Lions' success. Junior transfer Nicole Martin made an immediate impact in her first season, leading the RMAC in aces per set (.42) and ranking sixth in blocks per set (.98). Her 46 aces tied for the fifth most in program history and were the most by a junior, while her 93 block assists ranked ninth all-time at UCCS and fourth among juniors.
  • Sophomore outside hitter Payton Tompkins emerged as one of the league's top offensive threats, ranking fourth in the RMAC in attacks per set (9.7) and points per set (4.0), while her 3.5 kills per set ranked fifth overall.
  • Freshman outside hitter Sydney Hyde also left her mark with a historic debut season. Hyde posted a .305 hitting percentage, the best ever by a freshman at UCCS, the seventh-best single-season mark in program history, and the ninth-best in the RMAC in 2025.
  • Senior libero Mackenzie Ransom capped her four-year career as one of the program's most reliable defenders, finishing with 1,270 career digs—the seventh most in UCCS history. She surpassed the 1,000-dig milestone on Sept. 26 at Westminster, closing out a standout Mountain Lion career.
  • Martin, Tompkins, and Hyde were constants in the lineup, starting and playing in all 30 matches this season, while Mitrovich, Sydnee Walker, and Ransom appeared in every match as well.
 
2025 AVCA RANKINGS
  • The Mountain Lions appeared in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II national poll eight times during the season under the "Receiving Votes" category, but did not crack into the top 25.

HOT TAKES  
  • The Mountain Lions captured the program's first RMAC Regular Season title, sharing the crown with the 2025 NCAA DII champions, Metropolitan State University of Denver.
  • UCCS closed out the season with a 26-4 overall record and a 13-1 mark in conference matches.
  • The Mountain Lions' bid to the NCAA regional tournament was their second appearance in the NCAA postseason (2007).
  • Two of UCCS' four losses came against the nationally ranked Roadrunners.
  • The Mountain Lions' 11-0 start to the season set a new record for most consecutive wins at the beginning of the season. UCCS went on to set a new consecutive winning streak, winning 14 straight matches from Oct. 10 to Nov. 21.
  • UCCS went 13-0 at home, marking its second undefeated season at home, and setting a mark for most home wins in a season.
  • The 13 RMAC wins ties the program record for the second most conference wins in a season (2007: 16-3) with the 2009 squad that went 13-6.
  • Head coach Tara Hittle became the first coach in program history to earn the RMAC Coach of the Year honor.
  • Hittle earned her 50th career win at UCCS in a five-set home win over Colorado Christian University on Oct. 25th.
  • UCCS' .240 hitting mark set a new season record, as the Mountain Lions put down 1,487 kills on 3,972 attempts (532 errors).
  • The 30 matches played this season are the most in a season since 2004, and the sixth most in program history.
  • UCCS was a perfect 7-0 in four-set matches.  The Mountain Lions claimed 15 sweeps this season and were only swept twice, both by MSU Denver.  When the match went to five sets, the Mountain Lions won four out of six times.
 
 
SOCIAL 
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For everything UCCS Athletics, follow the Mountain Lions on social media and stay tuned to gomountainlions.com. 
  
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. 
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