HONOLULU, Hawaii – Competing against host school Hawaii Pacific University in the Hawaii Challenge, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs volleyball team earned its second straight sweep of the day after claiming a 3-0 win against the Sharks Friday night in Honolulu, Hawaii.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Final Score: W, 3-0 (31-29, 25-21, 25-21)
- Records: UCCS (3-0, 0-0 RMAC) | HPU (1-4, 0-0 PWC)
- Facility | Location: HPU The Shark Tank | Honolulu, Hawaii
- All-Time Series: Tonight's win was the Mountain Lions' first win over HPU, as they move to 1-2 all-time against the Sharks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Neither team led by more than two points in the opening action of Friday's contest. After eight scoring ties, the Sharks committed a service error that sparked a 4-1 run to give UCCS some cushion room from HPU, 14-11. Both teams continued to battle back and forth when Rylee Pitts broke a 23-23 tie off a kill, but neither team could put the set away as they tied the score six more times. Trailing 29-28, the Mountain Lions forced HPU to commit two straight hitting errors before Maylen Mitrovich served an ace to seal the opening set win, 31-29.
- The Mountain Lions took quick action in the second set, gaining a 5-1 lead. Mitrovich and Sydney Hyde started the scoring raid with two kills, followed by a tandem block from Hyde and Payton Tompkins. Mitrovich added two service aces to cap off the strong start for UCCS, 5-1. The Sharks responded with a 4-1 run of their own that cut into UCCS' lead, 8-7. Four straight kills from Tompkins gave UCCS its largest lead of the set, 16-11, and the Mountain Lions were able to keep the Sharks at bay, winning set two, 25-21.
- Nicole Martin and Mitrovich teamed up and blocked a Sharks attack for the first point of the third set. UCCS' lead extended to 5-2, but the Sharks bit back and went on a 4-0 run to gain their first lead of the set, 6-5. The Mountain Lions responded with five straight points that featured two kills from Hyde and an ace from libero Mackenzie Ransom for a 10-6 UCCS advantage. HPU fought back from a five-point deficit and cut into UCCS' lead, 20-18, forcing the Mountain Lions to call a timeout. Coming out of the break, Martin posted a solo block at the net, now making Hawaii Pacific to use a timeout. The Sharks break worked as they came back onto the court to score three straight points and knot the set at 21-21, but the Mountain Lions kept their poise and forced HPU to commit three attacking errors, one of which was met at the net by Martin and Mitrovich as UCCS boasted their second straight sweep.
MATCH STATISTICS
- Walker registered six of her match high 11 kills in the opening set. She finished the night hitting .409 at the net and adding 10 digs.
- Mitrovich dished up 14 assists and added four kills, three blocks and three aces.
- Tompkins helped the offensive unit with 10 kills.
- Ransom led the backline with 11 digs while contributing three assists.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Mountain Lions are now 2-0 in three-set matches this season.
- UCCS is also 2-0 in sets that go beyond 25 points.
UP NEXT
- UCCS will wrap up the Hawaii Challenge on Saturday with a 6 p.m. (MT) match against California State University East Bay.
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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.
