Grizzlies rebound, make quick work of CCU

Junior libero Carly Simpson had 14 digs in the first game of ASC's win over CCU and finished the night with 23. She now has 283 on the year.

Box Score

ALAMOSA, Colo.— Dropping a heartbreaking 5-game match to 3-time defending Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Champion Metro State on Thursday night, the Adams State College Grizzly volleyball team made quick work of the Colorado Christian University Cougars on Friday night in Plachy Hall. Posting a 30-25, 30-13, 30-27 win in just 75 minutes, the Grizzlies, have now reached the 10-win mark for the third straight year after accomplishing the feat just once in the prior seven. ASC, 10-5 overall, is 5-3 in RMAC action while CCU fell to 2-14 overall and 0-7 in league play.

The Grizzlies were paced by a match-high 12 kills from junior outside hitter Ashton Thomas along with a match-high 23 digs from junior libero Carly Simpson. Senior setter Monica Garcia had 47 assists and is now just six shy of becoming the third ASC player to reach the 3,000-assist milestone for her career.

The Grizzlies hit .222 as a team and held the Cougars to a .076 percentage. Recording 14 of her digs in the first game, Simpson and the Grizzlies went on a 5-1 run to build a 22-17 lead before the Grizzlies went on another 4-1 run behind Simpson’s serving to take the first set.

Defensive specialist Lindsey Merritt then served 10 straight points in the early portions of the second game as the Grizzlies raced to a 19-5 run behind an impressive 15-1 run. Cruising to the comfortable 17-point win, the Grizzlies blocked four balls and watched CCU, winless in its last 13 RMAC matches dating back to 2003, committ six other attacking errors en-route to a lowly negative .132 hitting percentage for the set. Thomas had five kills in the game as the Grizzlies hit .243.

Hanging tough in the third game, the Cougars tied it at 18 and were within one or two points until a 4-1 run gave ASC some breathing room at 25-21. The Cougars continued to scratch and pulled to within one at 27-26 before Leah Hill and Emily Bussey kills gave the Grizzlies their first match point.

Staving off one of those match points with a Grizzly service error, CCU watched Hill, a freshman middle blocker from Fort Collins, finish the match off with her eighth kill of the night.

Staying with the Grizzlies for most of the first and third games, the Cougars were led by a solid 11-kill, 14-dig double-double effort from senior outside hitter Amy Corder. Sophomore middle blocker Becky Mogle also chipped in eight kills and was one of four players in the match with three blocks.

The Grizzlies used 11 players in the match and received a combined 19 kills from Kallee Bingham, Megan Jennings and Hill, their three middle blockers. Sophomore outside hitter Sheena Brundage added six kills and 10 digs, despite resting throughout the third game. Junior defensive specialist Jocelyn Garcia, Monica’s younger sister, had 12 digs.

ASC will now prepare for an important RMAC match with Regis University (6-8, 4-2 RMAC) on Saturday night. The match begins at 7 p.m. and can be heard on KSPK-FM (103.5 in Alamosa) and via the internet at www.kspk.com.