Last weekend, the Mountain Lions volleyball team ended their regular season with a blowout loss against the MSU Denver Roadrunners, and a redeeming sweep win against the Colorado Christian Cougars.
After the two matches, the team holds a 13-13 overall record with an 8-10 RMAC record.
MSU Denver sweeps UCCS, 3-0
Set one for the Nov. 4 home match against the MSU Denver Roadrunners began with an early 8-5 lead for the Mountain Lions. UCCS took advantage of the Roadrunners’ slow start and several attack errors. Kills by redshirt senior outside hitter Hannah Ammerman, sophomore right side Tori Perduk and redshirt sophomore outside hitter Raegen Emery also helped the team pad their lead.
However, the Roadrunners took the reins back with a late five-point lead, 24-19. An attack error by the Mountain Lions gave the Roadrunners the set, 25-19.
The momentum carried in the Roadrunners’ favor in the second set as UCCS never found the lead and were down 12-7 halfway through. The Mountain Lions only scored seven more points after that and lost the set 25-14, putting them on the edge of losing the match.
The third set began with an early close contest as both teams found themselves knotted up, 4-4. They each traded off points throughout the set with the Mountain Lions falling behind a couple times, but regaining the tie again late, 20-20. Multiple kills by junior middle blocker Nicole Medlin, Emery, Perduk and Ammerman helped the team come back.
But the tie was short-lived, as the Roadrunners ended the set with five unanswered points and a kill that landed in the back right corner of the Mountain Lions court and ended the set, 25-20, and match, 3-0.
Ammerman recorded a match-high 12 kills and nine digs; she also had the team attack high with .345 percent. Redshirt freshman setter Reilly Babcock led the team with 16 assists and posted the lone service ace for the Mountain Lions.
UCCS shuts out Colorado Christian in season finale, 3-0
The Mountain Lions came back on Nov. 5, Make-A-Wish night, against the Colorado Christian Cougars by finding an early 6-3 lead. UCCS found holes in CCU’s defense and three of the team’s points came from kills by Geiger, Babcock and Ammerman.
UCCS kept pushing on the Cougars as they tallied up points and finished them off, 25-18, to win the first set.
But the Cougars were not out of it yet. They found an early 6-4 lead in the second set. The Mountain Lions came back quickly with five unanswered points after a kill by Perduk off an assist from Babcock and four straight CCU attack errors, taking the lead 9-6.
After that it was all Mountain Lions as they held a lead of four points or more for the rest of the set, winning 25-17.
In the third set, the Cougars found another early lead. This time they held it for most of the set and the Mountain Lions found themselves down by one, 16-15. Babcock tossed it over to Medlin, who found a hole in the Cougars’ defense for a kill and a tied set.
After the score, the Mountain Lions steamed their way toward another set victory,winning the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-0.
With this match, graduate student libero Jordyn Kinsey tied alum volleyball player Laura Meeter for the third most digs in UCCS history with 1,688. Babcock finished the regular season with the second most assists for a freshman in UCCS history and is tied for fourth most aces by a freshman in a single season.
The Mountain Lions are now waiting on the final scores in RMAC volleyball to determine if they will make the RMAC tournament.