GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The No. 24 ranked Regis University volleyball team (10-7, 6-2 RMAC) traveled to the home of the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks (12-4, 7-1 RMAC) on Friday night where they battled through five sets of extraordinary volleyball only to come away with a shocking five-set loss.
How It Happened: The opening set could have gone better for a Regis team that held an 18-11 lead at one point in the set. Instead, it was the Mavericks who put together a monster comeback to take a first set win. A 14-2 run put the Rangers away in a set that RU finished with an attack percentage of -.025.
Regis bounced back in the second set, improving their attack percentage to .425 after a difficult first set. The Rangers tied the match at one set apiece as they were able to find their rhythm offensively, remaining in-system for a majority of the set which featured great passing at the back and strong defense at the net.
The third set was set to be a good one as each team battled to take a one set lead. Much like the second set, the teams traded points in the early going. CMU jumped out to a 12-9 lead, but RU responded with an 11-5 run to take a three-point lead at 20-17. This run was answered by a run by the home squad to tie it up at 20. Regis faced a couple set points before they managed to tie the game at 24 apiece. In the end, the Mavericks took the crucial third set 28-26 heading into the fourth.
Once again, the two squads exchanged points back-and-forth for the duration of the set. With the score tied at 15, CMU put together a 5-3 run to take a 20-18 lead. Junior
Nikki Kennedy and freshman
Kate Kleinschmidt combined for a massive block to stop the run. On the ensuing play, the Mavericks attack hit the antenna and the resulting attack error knotted the game at 21 for another deadlock. The score remained tied 25-25 when sophomore
Caitlyn Burroway got a kill. Serving on set point, the ball reached junior setter
Silvia Basso who sent a pass to junior
Izzy Gosar who put the set away for the Rangers, forcing a fifth and final set.
RU scored two-straight points to open the set, but the theme continued as CMU climbed their way back into the set. Trailing 12-10, the Mavericks tied the set with back-to-back points, forcing a timeout from Regis. Another point from the home team forced another timeout from the Rangers as they were now trailing 13-12. Two-straight kills from CMU ended the match, sending RU home with devastating the five-set loss.
Game Notes: Gosar enjoyed her best game in a Regis uniform, exploding for a season-high 18 kills, adding four blocks as well. Kennedy put down 18 kills as well, registering a team-high six total blocks while junior
Kelsey Green tallied 13 kills and Burroway followed with 11 of her own to go with 14 digs. Senior libero
Kristina Schell had a career-night defensively as she recorded a record-breaking 36 digs, setting a new single-game record for the Rangers. Basso finished the night with 54 assists, three kills and eight digs. The team combined for a .200 attack percentage and 10 blocks. 13 service errors did not help their cause as the Mavericks only committed three on the night.
Up Next for the Rangers:No. 24 ranked Regis will make the trip to Gunnison, Colorado to take on the Western State Colorado University Mountaineers tomorrow at 3 p.m.
