COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The No. 18 ranked Regis University volleyball team (7-2, 1-0 RMAC) outlasted the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs Mountain Lions (2-7, 0-1 RMAC) in a five-set thriller during the opening match of conference play for each team.
 
Senior Kelsey Green reached a career milestone with her performance tonight as her seven kills helped her eclipse the 1,000 career kills mark in her fourth season as a Ranger (1,002). She becomes the 23^rdplayer to reach 1,000+ kills in a career at Regis.  
 
How It Happened:After their newly acquired No. 18 ranking this week, the proverbial target seems to be on Regis' back, evidenced by the opening set of the match with UCCS. The home team came out swinging to the tune of a .206 hitting percentage, while also holding the Rangers to a .024 hitting percentage in the first set. The Mountain Lions beat RU 25-23 to take a 1-0 set advantage. 
 
Regis rebounded in the second set behind a much more efficient effort on the offensive end, scoring 15 points off of kills, and securing the other points with a block, six attack errors from UCCS and three ball-handling errors on the home side as well. Senior Nikki Kennedy and redshirt-senior Kristen Hornung each had five kills in the second set and junior Caitlyn Burroway added four to help even the set score at one apiece after a 25-19 win for the Rangers. 
 
The third set was a back-and-forth affair for a majority of the set, but after the Mountain Lions took a 19-17 lead, head coach Joel List had to take a timeout. RU cut the lead to one, 20-19, which then forced a timeout from UCCS. Following the timeout, the Mountain Lions closed out the set on a 5-2 run to take a 2-1 set lead.
 
A big turning point in set four came when Kennedy and freshman Mara LeGrand linked up on back-to-back points for two big swinging kills. The second of which LeGrand found Kennedy on a slide and Kennedy put it away in the middle of three UCCS players. This helped Regis jump out to a 20-14 lead late in the fourth set, forcing a Mountain Lions timeout. The Rangers' strong .379 attack percentage and a 25-20 win in the fourth set allowed the visitors to force a decisive fifth set. 
 
The final set of the evening was another close match. Fast forward to a 13-12 lead with RU in front, a massive block from Hornung and Green gave Regis their first match point, but a kill from UCCS brought the score a little closer at 14-13. The Rangers' second chance at match point featured a pass from LeGrand who found a sliding Hornung whose shot found an open spot in the Mountain Lions defense, giving RU the 3-2 set victory. 

Game Notes: The combination of Kennedy (16) and Hornung (14) in the middle was key to Regis' win this evening as they combined for 30 kills on the night. Hornung enjoyed a match-high .444 hitting percentage while Kennedy finished with a .235 hitting percentage. Hornung also led the charge with four blocks. LeGrand tallied 52 assists in the match to go along with 19 digs. Freshman Haley Kennedy set a career-mark with 23 digs in the effort. Burroway added 13 kills and 14 digs for a double-double.
 
Up Next for the Rangers:The No. 18 ranked Regis University volleyball team will battle the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers (7-1) tomorrow night in Golden, Colo. at 5 p.m.