Grizzlies stumble in 3-0 loss to Mavericks

Senior Tiffany Stockebrand had a team-best 12 kills in Saturday's match.

Box Score

ALAMOSA, Colo.— A night after toppling the NCAA Division II Southwest Region’s top-ranked team in a 5-game thriller, the Adams State College volleyball squad dropped a 3-0 match to the visiting Mesa State College Mavericks. The Grizzlies fell in straight sets, 30-20, 30-26, 30-23, Saturday night in Plachy Hall. The loss drops ASC to 4-14 overall and 3-6 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action. MSC improved to 7-12 overall and 6-4 in the conference with the win.

MSC’s Drew Choules and Stacey Vogel set the pace for the Mavericks as the pair combined for 34 kills and over half of the team’s total points. Choules also had four blocks as she and sophomore Jessica Bird, who had six blocks, held the Grizzlies to a .133 hitting percentage at the net.

ASC was paced by 12 Tiffany Stockebrand (Alamosa, Colo.) kills. Junior Leah Hill (Fort Collins, Colo.) had 11 kills and eight digs while hitting a solid .500. Sophomore Jessie Pickens (Cortez, Colo.) had 13 digs to lead the way defensively for the Grizzlies. The 5-foot-5 libero also had one of ASC’s three service aces on the night.

The Mavericks, who came into the match after beating Colorado State University-Pueblo in straight sets on Friday, took control of game one early, breaking away from a 2-2 tie to go up 12-6. MSC extended that lead to 22-14 after two straight Vogel kills, forcing an Adams State timeout.

Hill put down one of her five kills in that game following the break, but the momentum was squarely in MSC’s court as the Mavericks cruised to the 30-20 win.

Game two was a much tighter affair as the Grizzlies scrambled back from an 18-10 deficit to make it a 20-19 game after a Brittany Muchmore (Peoria, Ariz.) kill. Muchmore, who sat out of Friday night’s win due to injury, then slammed home a second kill just moments after a Grizzly service error, making it a 21-20 Maverick lead.

MSC then went on a 4-0 run to widen the gap to 25-21 and fended off several Grizzly attacks to take a two games to none edge into the intermission. The Mavericks then used a trio of 4-point runs throughout game three to claim the 30-23 victory, ending the Grizzlies’ hopes of extending the match.

ASC’s Darcy Jennings (Lakin, Kan.) had seven kills and five blocks for the Grizzlies, who couldn’t find the rhythm that kept them in contention for Friday’s win.

Both teams will now take a break from divisional play with next weekend’s RMAC East/West Crossover Tournaments. MSC will host an 8-team affair in its Brownson Arena, while the Grizzlies will travel to the University of Nebraska-Kearney. ASC will face East Division foes Chadron State College and UNK on Friday and UC-Colorado Springs and Metro State College on Saturday. The Grizzlies’ first game of each day is slated for 11 a.m. (CDT) while the nightcap is scheduled for 7 p.m. (CDT).