DENVER, Colo. – For the second night in a row, the Regis University volleyball team (13-7, 9-2 RMAC) pulled off a sweep against a conference opponent, this time coming against the Adams State University Grizzlies (6-13, 3-8 RMAC).
How It Happened: Set one featured a lot of back-and-forth scoring from both teams until the Grizzlies managed to score five-straight points to take an 18-15 lead late in the opening set. After Regis' second timeout of the set, the Rangers stormed back to tie the game at 18 points apiece. A couple points later, the home team strung together five-consecutive points to take a 24-20 lead. A service error for ASU ended the first set, giving RU the 25-21 win.
Set two featured more back-and-forth play with Adams State once again taking a large lead in the set. After the Grizzlies went up 12-7, head coach
Joel List called a timeout to get his squad to re-focus their energy. Just as it did in the opening set, Regis took back the lead at 16-15. With a one-point lead at 21-20, RU got a kill from sophomore
Caitlyn Burroway followed by two massive blocks from the combination of junior
Nikki Kennedy and freshman
Kate Kleinschmidt to set up set point. Two attack errors from the home side put ASU within striking distance, 24-22. Set point fell to Regis as a bad set from the Grizzlies did not make it over the net, final score 25-22 in favor of the Rangers. Kennedy and Kleinschmidt put on a clinic defensively in the second set, collecting three block assists each.
The third and final set was all RU as they bolted out of the gates to a 4-1 lead to start the set. The Grizzlies fought back and tied the score at 16, taking the lead on an attack error by Regis. The game remained close until the Rangers closed out the game on a 3-0 run capped off by back-to-back kills from junior
Kelsey Green. RU took the set 25-20 and their third-consecutive conference sweep.
Game Notes: Kennedy and Burroway combined for 22 kills on the night as they both posted a game-high 11 kills apiece. Green was the only other player with double-digit kills in the game but junior
Izzy Gosar finished with a team-high .538 attack percentage with eight kills in 13 attempts with only a single error. Kennedy, the nation's top blocker, finished the night with a game-high six blocks, matching her total from the night before. Kleinschmidt added four blocks of her own. Junior setter
Silvia Basso topped her performance from last night with 41 assists on Saturday. Senior Libero
Kristina Schell posted a team-high 13 digs and Burroway notched her 12
th double-double of the season with 10 digs in the match.
Up Next for the Rangers: The volleyball team will travel to the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs next Friday to take on the Mountain Lions at 7 p.m. The following night, the Rangers will head to Golden, Colorado to face the No. 22 ranked Colorado School of Mines Orediggers at 5 p.m.
