Grizzlies complete 2-1 weekend with first-ever road win at Regis
DENVER— Playing their third match in less than 48 hours, the Adams State College Grizzlies rallied from a game down to post their first ever road win over the Regis University Rangers on Saturday afternoon in the RU Fieldhouse. The Grizzlies, who had won home matches over the perennially-tough Rangers in 2002 and 2004, used a match-high 16 kills from Tiffany Stockebrand (Alamosa, Colo.), just one of several solid efforts. The win was ASC’s second straight road win and allowed the squad, now 6-10 overall and 3-6 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, to complete a successful 2-1 weekend in the Mile High City. Regis, which was fresh after resting for six full days fell to 3-12 overall and 2-5 in conference play.
Senior middle Kallee Bingham (Mesa, Ariz.) aided the cause tremendously as she put down 12 kills and a career-high eight blocks while hitting .423. Stockebrand and Leah Hill (Fort Collins, Colo.) also had five blocks while the return of Brittany Muchmore (Peoria, Ariz.) gave ASC a needed-spark. Muchmore, who had missed the last six matches with a back injury, put down seven kills while hitting an impressive .462.
Stockebrand also had 14 digs to record her second straight and sixth double-double while senior libero Jocelyn Garcia (Albuquerque, N.M.) recorded a match-high 22 digs giving her an even 300 on the season. Senior defensive specialist Carly Simpson (Kent, Wash.) had 15 of her own.
As a team, the Grizzlies had a slight 53-50 advantage in kills but took full advantage of 37 Ranger hitting errors. They also served 10 aces while committing just four service errors. The Rangers also had 10 service errors but gave ASC 11 free points.
The Rangers were paced by Tricia Leger and Rachel Ross, who each had 12 kills. Laura Bisio added 10 while 6-foot-2 Jenny Kaiser had an impressive total of 11 blocks.
ASC’s setter Tagen Bierley (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and her Ranger counterpart Hannah Tautolo each had 42 assists.
The Rangers hit .184 in the first game and blocked seven Grizzly attacks as the broke a 10-10 game open with a 6-0 run that forced a Grizzly timeout. ASC tried to recover and pulled within one on a hitting error. Calling a timeout of their own, the Rangers came out firing once again and put the game away with a 7-2 run capped by a Kaiser and Ross block.
The second game was a much different story as the Grizzlies figured out the Ranger block hitting an impressive .467. Putting down 16 kills without any hitting errors other than two Ranger blocks, the Grizzlies trailed only early before building 13-6 and 25-18 leads as they evened the match at a game a piece on a Stockebrand kill.
The Grizzlies were almost as impressive in the third game as they went on a 6-0 run behind Bussey serves and back-to-back Stockebrand kills to take a 15-6 lead. They extended that lead that lead to 10 and then went on another 6-0 run with Bussey at the service line, closing out the game as the teams traded service errors.
The Grizzlies hit .394 in the third set and forced seven Ranger attacking errors and a .000 attack percentage. Stockebrand had seven kills in the stanza, as many as the entire Ranger team.
The Rangers put up a valiant fight in the fourth game but gave up a 7-0 run with Bussey at the service line as ASC took a 16-11 lead. The Rangers gradually pulled to within three at 28-25 and 29-26 but ran out of time as a Stockebrand kill from Bierley completed the ASC win.
The Grizzlies now return home to Plachy Hall and will play four straight and eight of their final 10 regular-season matches in front of a home crowd. That stretch will not start with an easy match as ASC will host the University of Nebraska-Kearney Lopers on Friday at 7 p.m. The Lopers are currently ranked third in the CSTV/American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll and sport 17-1 overall and 8-0 RMAC records.
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