Grizzlies fall in straight sets to Mavericks
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Despite 11 kills and a .435 hitting percentage from senior outside hitter Tiffany Stockebrand (Alamosa, Colo.), the Adams State College Grizzlies fell in straight sets to the host Mesa State College Mavericks Friday evening in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference volleyball action. The Grizzlies fell victim to a strong Maverick attack and several of their own hitting miscues in the match.
ASC is now 4-21 overall and 3-13 in RMAC play. The Mavericks improved to 12-13 overall and 11-5 in the league.
Redshirt freshman Darcy Jennings (Lakin, Kan.) had eight kills, while Gina Meyer (Blanding, Utah) added another six as the three combined for over 75 percent of the Grizzlies’ kills. Freshman libero Ronica Stanley had 11 digs defensively while junior Ashly Heikes had 27 assists and nine digs, just short of a double-double.
The Mavericks were paced by Drew Choules 18-dig, 12-kill double-double. Choules was joined in double-digits at the net by reigning RMAC West Division Player of the Week Stacey Vogel, who had 13 kills, and Lauren Powley, who had a game-high 14 kills. Dara Waialae dished out 47 assists as the Mavericks compiled a .256 hitting percentage, including a .429 mark in game one.
The Grizzlies kept things close in that initial game, forcing 16 ties, including ones at each point from 23 to 25 before the Mavericks went on a 5-0 run to end the game. Powley and Vogel combined for all five kills in that run.
MSC then took control of game two early, jumping out to 8-4 and 12-7 leads. The Grizzlies steadily scrapped their way back into contention, using a Stockebrand kill and a rare Maverick hitting error to climb back to within one at 21-20. However, a Grizzly attacking error and a Vogel-Powley kill gave MSC the 24-21 edge, forcing a Grizzly time-out. The Mavericks responded well out of that break and used a 6-2 run to head to intermission leading two games to none.
Game three belonged to the Mavericks from the start as they used a 4-0 run early and a 13-2 run through the middle portion of the game to take control at 21-13. The Grizzlies battled through the remaining points of the game, but the deficit was too much to overcome.
MSC now moves into a fifth place tie in the RMAC standings and will look to clinch an RMAC tournament berth. The Mavericks and the rest of the RMAC contingent have three matches remaining in the regular season. ASC will travel to Fort Lewis College on Saturday before closing out their season next weekend with a pair of home matches against New Mexico Highlands and Western New Mexico.
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