Grizzlies drop 4-setter at Colorado Mines
GOLDEN, Colo.— The Adams State College volleyball team came from behind to win the first set 25-21 but lost the next three as the host Colorado School of Mines Orediggers won their fourth straight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference match over the visiting Grizzlies, Thursday night here in Lockridge Arena.
Both teams had come into the key inter-divisional match with identical 5-3 conference records.
The Orediggers, now 14-5 overall, were paced by a 19-kill, 14-dig double-double from freshman Jackie Stabell and an impressive 14-kill, 8-block effort from senior middle blocker Kaity Edmiston. Senior Elizabeth Serra-Hsu chipped in another 20 digs in the 21-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-23 victory.
The Grizzlies received 17 kills from Darcy Jennings-Calkins (Lakin, Kan.) and 11 each from freshman outside hitters Callyn Weyenberg (Gilbert, Ariz.) and Dominique Davis (Denver, Colo.) but slipped under .500 for the first time in nearly a month.
The Grizzlies, now 8-9 overall, are 0-5 in Lockridge Arena this season after starting the year with four defeats at the Holiday Inn Denver West Village Oredigger Volleyball Classic in late August. They then won six straight and seven of eight matches but have since dropped four of their last five.
In this one, the Grizzlies hit a solid .237 in the first set as they rallied from as much as 12-6 down with sophomore Megan Hiss (Hoehne, Colo.), who started for just the second time in her career, at the service line during a 6-0 Grizzly run that featured two Jennings-Calkins kills, a Hiss service ace, ASC’s only one of the night, and two Grizzly blocks.
The set was later tied at 15 before two straight Oredigger hitting errors a lead that they would not relinquish.
The Orediggers did pull to within a single point at 21-20 before Weyenberg and Jennings-Calkins combined for three straight kills to help the Grizzlies take the early lead.
That lead would not last long as the Orediggers stretched a slim 9-8 edge into an 18-12 second set cushion. The Grizzlies did claw back to within four at 22-18 behind the serving of freshman defensive specialist Valerie Garcia (Colorado Springs, Colo.) but would get no closer as the Orediggers closed out the set to even the overall match.
The Grizzlies then fell apart late the third set committing 11 total hitting errors in the frame as Stabell and Edmiston put down four kills each. The set was tied seven times, including at 16, before a Tara Schwein kill and Grizzly hitting error gave the Orediggers a slight 18-16 cushion.
The teams then traded points to make the score 19-17 before another Schwein kill and four straight Grizzly hitting errors gave the Orediggers a set point, which Serra-Hsu capitalized upon with one of the Orediggers’ four service aces.
The fourth set was just as much of a battle and was tied on nine different occasions as the Grizzlies rallied from as many as four down to tie the set at 19 on a Jennings-Calkins kill and two Stabell hitting errors prompting the Orediggers to call a timeout.
Edmiston and Jennings-Calkins, two of the top players in the RMAC, then traded kills to make the score 20-20 before another Jennings-Calkins kill put the Grizzlies on top 21-20.
However, a Grizzly service error and a Serra-Hsu kill reversed that lead into a 22-21 deficit.
The Orediggers later led 23-22 before a kill from Grizzly junior setter Mary McNeil (Phoenix, Ariz.) tied the score while prompting another Oredigger timeout.
Stabell then fired up the home crowd with the last of her kills before Serra-Hsu and Schwein blocked an attack from Davis to close out the match.
The Orediggers finished the night with a 13.5-7 advantage in total blocks and out-hit the Grizzlies by a .190 to .126 count.
Amanda Massey tallied 48 assists for the Orediggers while libero Kirstie Bunting joined Serra-Hsu and Stabell in double figures as she tallied 14 digs.
Grizzly sophomore libero AJ Palmer (Colorado Springs, Colo.) finished the night with a match-high 24 digs while McNeil finished with 40 assists to aid ASC’s cause.
The Grizzlies finish a 5-match road-swing on Friday night when they face UC-Colorado Springs at 7 o’clock in the Lions’ Den. The Mountain Lions, 10-7 overall, defeated Colorado State-Pueblo in three sets earlier Thursday night and have now won six straight at home. They, like the Grizzlies, are 5-4 in RMAC action.
The first serve is slated for 7 p.m.
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