Mountain Lion volleyball was greeted with a shock this Halloween, as the visiting Regis University took all three sets in the Gallogly Events Center, 3-0.
The #12 ranked Rangers provided an immediate challenge for the Mountain Lions from the opening set and maintained this intensity throughout the match.
Despite this, head coach Tara Hittle and UCCS accumulated an early lead due to a multitude of attack errors from Regis. A kill by junior outside hitter Isabel Hudspeth helped to propel this lead further before a second time-out by the Rangers.
An 8-0 streak allowed the Rangers to hunt down the Mountain Lions and overtake them in the set. Regis never relinquished this lead, taking the set 25-19.
The Rangers would maintain this momentum as they managed to hit .511 during the second set compared to .211 by the Mountain Lions, more than doubling UCCS’ attack percentage.
Rangers’ Halle Theis and Nadine Burbrink both collected five kills, and the Mountain Lions would end up scoring one less point than they did in the first in another dropped set, as the second one finished 25-19.
Nevertheless, UCCS responded to this with a pair of kills by senior middle blocker Nicole Medlin, giving the Mountain Lions hope early in the set.
As both teams went back and forth through the set’s five lead changes, this streak was broken through consecutive blocks by Medlin and graduate student outside hitter Lauryn Shockley, giving the Mountain Lions their first lead in the set, 17-16.
However, Hittle’s side was unable to capitalize on this momentum as the Rangers climbed back to knot the score at 19-19 before claiming the rest of the set as their own. The Rangers won the final set 25-21, sweeping the match, 3-0.
Outside of the defeat, individual Mountain Lions performances deserve to be recognized. Medlin led UCCS with ten kills in the final set, and junior setter Maylen Mitrovich collected a staggering 17 kills over the course of the match.
This loss is the Mountain Lions’ last home match in the RMAC conference as they finish with a 6-5 record at home.
#13 outside hitter/right side Lauryn Shockley goes for the kill against Regis on Oct. 31. Photo by Lillian Davis.