HONOLULU, Hawaii – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs volleyball team swept their final match against California State University East Bay at the Hawaii Challenge in Honolulu, Hawaii.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Final Score: W, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 30-28)
- Records: UCCS (4-0, 0-0 RMAC) | CSUEB (1-3, 0-0 LSC)
- Facility | Location: CU McCabe Gymnasium | Honolulu, Hawaii
- All-Time Series: UCCS is 1-1 all-time against the Pioneers
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first set of Saturday night's matchup began as a back-and-forth battle featuring four kills by sophomore Payton Tompkins en route to a 10-10 tie. The score would later advance to 13-13 before Sydnee Walker's third kill of the set sparked a four-point run to give UCCS a 17-13 lead. Cal State East Bay would battle back to move the score to 22-20 in favor of the Mountain Lions when a kill by Tompkins and a CSUEB attack error would put UCCS one point away from taking the first set. The Pioneers would threaten one more time before Tompkins ended the set with her seventh kill to win 25-22.
- The Mountain Lions would take a quick 5-3 lead in the second set as junior Nicole Martin tallied her sixth kill of the night. Freshman middle blocker Sydney Hyde then notched three kills in a row, all assisted by Maylen Mitrovich, to make the lead 8-3. The Pioneers fought back to make the score 9-8 due to a five-to-one run but never managed to match UCCS as the Mountain Lions won the second set 25-20.
- Set three started off much like the first, as both teams battled early to begin with a 6-6 tie. A three-point run from UCCS was quickly followed by a three-point run from the Pioneers, which brought the set to another tie at 11 apiece. A kill from Michelle Fredrick would spark a five-point Mountain Lion run, prompting CSUEB to use a timeout. After the timeout, CSUEB would come back to take a 21-20 lead thanks to a 10-4 run. Despite the Pioneers' best efforts, UCCS would take a hard-fought third set 30-28 to sweep the match.
MATCH STATISTICS
- Tompkins led the team in kills with 16 as Martin and Walker also finished in double digits with 13 and 11, respectively.
- Mitrovich led the Mountain Lions in assists, notching 25, as Audrey Dowd tallied 20 of her own as well.
- The Mountain Lions led the Pioneers in hitting percentage (.269 to .204), kills (56 to 37), total attacks (130 to 108), and assists (53 to 37).
- The Pioneers led in digs (48 to 47) and total blocks (11 to 5).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- UCCS has now begun the season 4-0 for the second straight year.
- The Mountain Lions have recorded three straight sweeps for the first time since the 2022 season.
- The Mountain Lions are now 3-0 this season in extra-point sets.
- Mitrovich was named the Hawaii Challenge Best Setter of the Tournament. Joining Mitrovich on the all-tournament team were Martin and Tompkins.
UP NEXT
- UCCS will head home to begin the Mountain Lion Classic Tournament, where they will take on Millersville first on Friday, Sep. 12 at 11:30 a.m.
SOCIAL
X –
@GoMountainLions
Instagram –
@gomountainlions
Facebook – /
GoMountainLions
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.
