PUEBLO, Colo. – The Cowgirls won the first set, but the Thunderwolves won the next three as the New Mexico Highlands volleyball team (11-17, 5-12 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) fell to CSU-Pueblo (16-11, 10-7 RMAC) 17-25, 25-19, 25-22, 30-28 Friday night (Nov. 7) in Pueblo Colo.
With the loss, Highlands has officially been eliminated for a possible RMAC Tournament berth.
Holding a slim 14-13 advantage in the opening set, the Cowgirls scored five unanswered to take control. An attack error by the Thunderwolves put freshman
Riley Smith on serve and another attack error put the visitors up three. Freshman
Talise Babbitt added a pair of kills to force a CSU-Pueblo timeout. For good measure, freshman
Tianna Matthews capped the scoring run with a kill.
The home team climbed within 22-17, but the Cowgirls slammed the door. A senior
Alicia Moreno kill put Highlands on serve with a kill before senior
Elizabeth Gomez and freshman
Kristin Woody teamed up for a block. A bad set by the Thunderwolves put the Cowgirls up a set. Highlands hit .263 in the set, compared to .068 for the home team
Like the match last month in Las Vegas, CSU-Pueblo answered back with a second set win. Tied at five, a 5-1 run by the Thunderwolves blew open the set. Tanja Ranolivic put CSU-Pueblo on serve before a pair of attack errors put the home team up three. Both teams sided out before another attack error put the Thunderwolves up 10-6. With eight errors in the set, Highlands hit only .045.
The Cowgirls were able to cut the deficit to 17-14, however two attack errors and an ace by Ranolivic pushed the lead to 20-14 and forced a Cowgirls timeout. Alex Winkler added a kill and another ace pushed the lead to 22-14. CSU-Pueblo went on to take the second set and tie the match heading into intermission.
Set three was tied at 18 before four unanswered helped give the Thunderwolves set three. Setter Alex Sansavera – who had a double-double with 28 assists and 10 digs –put the home team on serve with a kill off an over pass. Morgan Wilkening, who had a match-best 17 kills, gave CSU-Pueblo the critical two point lead with a kill. An ace and a Highlands attack error put the home team up 22-18. CSU-Pueblo only hit .195 in the frame, but Highlands had eight errors for the second straight set and only hit .100.
Other than an early 9-5 lead, virtually the entire fourth set was played within a one-point differential. Down 23-21, Highlands called a timeout and tied up the frame. Moreno – who finished with her own double-double with 16 digs and 12 kills – put the visitors on serve. Woody, who led the Cowgirls with 15 kills, tied the set with a kill. The teams sided out the next three points to give CSU-Pueblo a pair of match points, but a Woody kill tied the set at 25. A Gomez-Woody block put Highlands on set point, but a pair of Winkler kills gave CSU-Pueblo another match point. The teams sided out the next four points before a service ace by Katie Burnett ended the match.
Senior
Jessica Piper finished the match with 33 digs and has 67 digs in nine sets (7.44 digs per set) this year against the Thunderwolves. Freshman
Shayli Schulz added a double-double with 40 assists and 11 digs.
The Cowgirls complete the regular season Saturday (Nov. 8) at Western State. Highlands won in four sets last month in Las Vegas.
