GRAND JUCTION, Colo. – The Cowgirls could not overcome hitting negative in the first set as the New Mexico Highlands volleyball team (8-12, 3-7 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) fell in straight sets at #17 Colorado Mesa (15-3, 9-1 RMAC) 25-14, 25-21, 25-19 Saturday afternoon in Grand Junction, Colorado.
The Mavericks only hit .189 in set one, but Highlands countered at negative-.071. The Cowgirls hit .343 in set two, but Colorado Mesa finished with just shy of hitting .500. The Mavericks finished the match outhitting the Cowgirls .294-.135.
Senior
Alicia Moreno paced the Cowgirls with eight kills, followed by freshman
Tianna Matthews hitting nearly .400 with seven kills and two errors on 14 attempts. Senior
Jessica Piper had a stellar defensive match with 17 digs and no reception errors.
Casey Ball led a trio of Mavericks with double-digit kills, ending the match with a double-double of 12 kills and 10 digs. Tiffany Petersen matched Piper with 17 digs but had a pair of reception errors.
Set one saw Colorado Mesa turn a 11-9 lead and finish the set on a 14-5 run to win by 11. Set two saw the Mavericks race out to a 17-11 lead, but the Cowgirls won seven-of-eight points to tie the frame. Matthews wrapped a pair of kills around a Mavericks error to cut the deficit in half. After both teams sided out, freshman
Talise Babbitt had a par of aces around another Colorado Mesa error to tie the set at 18. A service error put the home team up for good as Colorado Mesa won the set by four.
The Mavericks only trailed 1-0 in the final set as they closed the match with a six-point set win.
The Cowgirls return home next week for a pair of matches against Western State and CSU-Pu
