Grizzlies take down Mountain Lions for second straight win
Jennings-Calkins surpasses 1,000 kill mark
DURANGO, Colo.— Senior middle hitter Darcy Jennings-Calkins (Lakin, Kan.) recorded a match-high 24 kills and joined the elite 1,000 club for her career while freshman outside hitter Dominique Davis (Denver, Colo.) chipped in another 19 as the Adams State College Grizzlies posted a come-from-behind 25-15, 21-25, 19-25, 25-20, 15-6 victory over the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs Mountain Lions, Friday at the Skyhawk Volleyball Classic in Fort Lewis College’s Whalen Gymnasium.
The victory does not figure into the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings, but was the second of the day for the Grizzlies against a quality opponent as they improved to 2-4 overall. UCCS dropped to 4-2.
Jennings-Calkins, who hit .432 throughout the match while putting down four blocks, now has 1,021 kills for her career. She had set ASC’s NCAA Division II era (1992-Present) record last weekend and hit the 1,000 milestone mid-way through the first set when the Mountain Lions’ Nicole Pederson was called for a blocking error making the score 15-9.
The Grizzlies trailed two sets to one win but got out to a quick 4-0 and 7-1 leads in the fourth frame and never trailed although the Mountain Lions did pull to within a single point at 11-10 before two Kelsey Huckle (Gunnison, Colo.) service aces allowed the Grizzlies to build the lead back up to five points at 16-11.
The Mountain Lions again battled back to within 20-18 on one of Sonja Johnson’s 11 kills before two Jennings-Calkins strikes around a Mountain Lion hitting error gave the Grizzlies a commanding 23-18 lead in the set, eventually finished off by a Mountain Lion service error and a Huckle ace, one of a match-high three she had in the set.
With momentum on their side, the Grizzlies left little doubt in the second half of the decisive fifth set as an 8-0 run behind the serving of junior setter Mary McNeil (Phoenix, Ariz.) put the Grizzlies on top 12-5 en-route to the victory.
The Grizzlies hit a blistering .462 in that frame as the Mountain Lions fell apart, committing five hitting errors while watching Jennings-Calkins and Davis put down three kills each to lead the charge.
The Grizzlies were also solid in the second half of the opening set breaking open a close 11-9 score with a 5-0 run that featured a Callyn Weyenberg (Gilbert, Ariz.) service ace, one of eight the Grizzlies had in the match, and Jennings-Calkins’ milestone kill to take a 16-9 lead, a cushion they extended even more.
The Mountain Lions then used a big 9-1 run at the beginning of the second set before holding on to win that set and the third when a 5-0 spurt broke open what was a close 19-18 score to take the overall lead heading into the fourth set.
The Grizzlies served especially strong committing just two service errors throughout while UCCS, held to four service aces, committed five serving miscues.
McNeil finished the match with 47 assists while Tamara Fowler (Rio Rancho, N.M.) chipped in another 10 kills.
Defensively, the Grizzlies used four Kelsey Miller (Las Animas, Colo.) blocks and27 digs from sophomore libero AJ Palmer (Colorado Springs, Colo.), playing against her hometown team, whose campus is just miles from her former Rampart High School stomping grounds.
The Mountain Lions, held to a .170 hitting effort, out-blocked the Grizzlies 14-8 as Pederson, who also chipped in nine kills, had eight blocks. Jenica also had 11 kills while Kendall Utz and Kelsey Pobar combined for 28 of the Mountain Lions’ 53 total digs.
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