GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs volleyball team downed the 24th-ranked team in Division II Saturday afternoon, handing Colorado Mesa University a 3-2 setback on their home court.  The loss comes one day after the Mavericks defeated No. 5 Metropolitan State University of Denver, 3-1, Friday night in their home opener.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP

• Final Score: W, 3-2 (25-23, 25-22, 14-25, 24-26, 15-9)
• Records: UCCS (11-0, 3-0 RMAC) | #T24 CMU (7-4, 3-1 RMAC)
• Facility | Location: CMU Brownson Arena | Grand Junction, Colo.
• All-Time Series: UCCS moves to 9-39 all-time against the Mavericks.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Returning to the court where she spent her first two collegiate seasons before transferring to UCCS, Nicole Martin notched the first point of the opening set when Audrey Dowd set her up for a kill.  The Mountain Lions quickly found themselves down 5-2 early on, but a 4-1 run that was highlighted by a kill and block assist from Sydney Hyde tied the set at 6-6.  Another 4-1 run by UCCS broke a 9-9 tie as Sydney Walker served up two aces in that span to give the Mountain Lions their largest lead of the set, 13-10.  Later in the set, Dowd connected with Payton Tompkins, who put down a kill to break an 18-18 tie that gave UCCS a 19-18 lead they would not relinquish as they took set one, 25-23.
• The Mountain Lions were in an early 7-2 hole in the second set but clawed their way out to topple the Mavericks, 25-22.  A kill from Walker cut into CMU's lead, 9-4, and sparked a 5-0 run to bring UCCS within one point of the home team, 9-8.  A few rallies later, CMU committed a setting error that gave the black and gold their first lead of the set, 11-10.  Both teams continued to battle, but crucial errors by the Mavericks gave the Mountain Lions set point, 24-20, before another CMU mistake sealed the 25-22 win for UCCS to put them on top, 2-0.
• Colorado Mesa snapped the Mountain Lions' 14-set winning streak with a 25-14 victory in set three.  The Mountain Lions were held to seven kills and a .062 hitting mark with six assists.  CMU, who led the entire set, hit a solid .367 on 14 kills and only three errors on 30 attempts.
• UCCS wasted no time and got back on track to start the fourth set.  Walker opened the set with an ace while the defensive units of Michelle Fredrick, Martin and Tompkins combined for back-to-back blocks for a 3-0 UCCS lead.  After the maroon and yellow scored their second point, the Mountain Lions went on a 4-1 run with kills from three different Mountain Lions before Tompkins capped off the run with an ace, forcing CMU to call a timeout.  Tompkins added another kill in the set to boost UCCS' lead to four, 14-10, but the Mavericks tore into the Mountain Lions' lead and eventually overcame their deficit to reclaim the advantage, 21-19, making head coach Tara Hittle use a timeout.  Coming out of the timeout, Fredrick, Tompkins and Hyde threw down three straight kills to get back in front of CMU, 22-21.  The Mavericks reclaimed the lead and served set point, 24-23, but Hyde kept UCCS' alive with a kill to knot the set at 24-all.  The Mavericks forced a fifth set after a Mountain Lions committed an attacking error that was followed by a block from CMU's Henley Madsen, giving the home squad a 26-24 win and tying the match at 2-2.
• With the match on the line in the fifth set, Martin and Fredrick teamed up to tie the set at 3-3 after blocking a CMU attack.  Tompkins followed the block with a kill, and then Martin served an ace, making CMU use their first timeout with UCCS leading, 5-3.  Two rallies later and two points from Fredrick's kill and a solo block from Hyde drove the Mavericks to use their second timeout as the Mavericks trailed, 7-3.  UCCS kept the upper hand over CMU, finishing the set scoring four of the final five points for the 15-9 win.

 
MATCH STATISTICS

• Martin registered a match high 16 kills and hit a solid .406.  She added an ace and assisted on a career high eight blocks.
• Tompkins chipped in 15 kills and dug up 10 attacks.
• Maylen Mitrovich and Mackenzie Ransom matched team high honors with 17 digs each.  Mitrovich added 26 assists and two kills.
• In two sets, Fredrick accounted for three kills and four block assists.
• UCCS hit .201 in the match with 58 kills on 174 attempts.
• Six of the eight aces this afternoon came from Walker and Ransom, who each served three aces.
• CMU outhit UCCS in kills (65-58) and hitting percentage (.225 to .201).

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Today's win snapped an eight-match losing streak to the Mavericks.  The last time UCCS defeated Colorado Mesa was Nov. 5, 2016 in Grand Junction (W, 3-2).
• UCCS is 2-0 in five-set matches this season.
• The third set loss broke a 14-set winning streak by the Mountain Lions.
• Today's win was only the third time in program history UCCS has defeated Colorado Mesa on their home court (3-20).
• UCCS is one of six teams in Division II to remain undefeated.
• The last time the Mountain Lions defeated a ranked team was Sept. 9, 2017, against No. 12 Wayne State College (W, 3-0).
• The Mountain Lions notched season highs in attacks (174) and blocks (13).
• Martin's 21 points and eight blocks were season highs for UCCS.

 
UP NEXT

• UCCS will wrap up its three-match road trip with a non-conference contest against Colorado State University Pueblo on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

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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.  Read Full Article