Grizzlies make quick work of CSC Eagles for third straight win
ALAMOSA, Colo.— The Adams State College Grizzlies hit a season-high .345 and had a 54-30 advantage in kills as they made quick work of the visiting Chadron State College Eagles in a 1-hour and 14-minute Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference volleyball match Saturday in Plachy Hall. The 30-18, 30-23, 30-18 win was ASC’s third straight and was the team’s first 3-game sweep since Aug. 26. It also allowed the Grizzlies to finish a solid 5-2 against RMAC East Division foes in the now completed inter-divisional segment of the season.
The Grizzlies, 9-11 overall and 6-7 in RMAC action, were paced by 14 kills and 11 digs from junior outside hitter Tiffany Stockebrand (Alamosa, Colo.). She hit .385 on the night. Senior outside hitter Emily Bussey (Alamosa, Colo.) added 12 kills, seven digs, three blocks while hitting a season-best .478. Sophomores Brittany Muchmore (Peoria, Ariz.) and Leah Hill (Fort Collins, Colo.) both hit over .400 and combined for 20 more kills. Freshman setter Tagen Bierley (Colorado Springs, Colo.) ran the impressive show doling out 47 assists to finish the 2-match weekend with 104. She had matched a career-high with 57 in Friday night’s 4-game win over Colorado Mines.
The Eagles, who used three different setters throughout the night, were led by eight kills from senior right side hitter Dani Dorshorst. Freshman libero Anna Jackson had a team-high 11 digs for the now 2-20 (1-12 RMAC) squad that has dropped ten straight matches, seven in three games.
The Grizzlies came out firing and were only slightly tested as they put down an impressive 20 kills while hitting .486 in the first set. Stockebrand, who had six, and Bussey, who had four, combined for 10 of those kills as the Alamosa High School products hit a combined .589 in the opening stanza.
The game was tied at five before the Grizzlies went on a 7-0 run with Stockebrand at the service line. The Eagles never recovered and went a game down on Hill’s third of nine kills.
Chadron State tied the second game on three early occasions but never led as a Hill kill started a 4-0 Grizzly spurt that gave ASC a 7-3 lead. The Eagles pulled within two points on a pair of occasions but fell victim to more solid Grizzly play as ASC put down another 14 kills while hitting .229 in the second game that was ended by four Patrice Henson attacking errors, two of which were because of Grizzly blocks, in the final five points.
In the early going of game three, Muchmore put down a pair of thundering kills in the midst of a 6-0 Grizzly run that allowed ASC to take a 7-1 lead with Bierley at the service line. The Eagles simply could not keep pace and fell behind 14-4 en-route to ASC’s 12-point final game win. The Grizzlies recorded 20 of their kills in that game and hit .317.
The Eagles were held to a .123 attack percentage throughout the night, including a .026 percentage in the second game, which was the closest of the three.
The Grizzlies also had 54 digs, 20 more than the Eagles. Senior libero Jocelyn Garcia (Albuquerque, N.M.) led the way with 15. Senior defensive specialist Carly Simpson (Kent, Wash.) chipped in another 12 and eclipsed the 1,300 mark for her career (1,303). She is now just four shy of ASC Hall of Fame Keri Abbott, who had 1,307 in her 1990-93 career.
ASC is now 4-2 on their home court but will have to go on the road for two matches next weekend before returning to Plachy Hall for the final four of the regular season. All six matches will be against RMAC West Division foes. The first of those is at division leader UC-Colorado Springs on Friday night at 7 p.m.
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