Securing their weekend sweep, Colorado Christian defeated the Cowgirls of New Mexico Highlands in three sets. Coming into the match the teams had tied conference records of 3-3, but the Cowgirls were up two spots over the Cougars with a better overall record. But after the win, Colorado Christian will continue to climb in their conference campaign.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Starting off strong, the Cougars landed three straight points to start the match. But the Cowgirls fought back to tie up the game, keeping it a close set until the score was 17-17 and the Cougars rallied a four point run to take a strong lead. Keeping it close yet again, the Cougars were up 24-19 when Highlands stayed strong and went on a 3-0 run. But with one final kill from Ashley Drye, the Cougars took the set 25-22. The hitting from both sides in set one was almost equal, as both teams hit a .195 on 41 attempts.

The Cougars took over in set two, their longest run reaching 7 points. Although Colorado Christian only hit .100, they held Highlands to .000 to win the set 25-15.

Set three saw Colorado Christian taking the lead early on, and at one point went up 17-10. But the Cowgirls continued to keep the pressure on and tied it up at 22, even taking the lead 24-22. But with back to back kills from the Cougars, the score was tied up yet again at 24. The battle continued as the teams were again tied at 26, but with a kill from Ashley Drye and a team error from the Cowgirls the Cougars won the set 28-26. Both teams hitting was high error throughout the match, and the Cougars stayed consistent with 8 errors per set. However their offensive efforts paid off with 8 aces.

MATCH LEADERS: With almost half of the Cougar kills, Cali Bahnsen led the team with 19. Freshmen Kristy Dick and Ashley Drye were next with 8 and 7 kills respectively. Three Cougars were in double digit digs, and leading the charge was Jacey Johnson with 15. Right behing her was Mariela Gonzalez with 14 and Christa Tucker with 12. Gonzalez and Kylee Wurster also tallied 2 aces a piece. Ashley Drye and Katie Henry also brought in some excitement after they each landed a solo block.  

WHAT'S NEXT: The win gives the team a conference record of 4-3, and an overall record of 6-10. Hitting the road next weekend, the Cougars will travel to Gunnison, Colorado, to play at Western State, followed by Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction. The match against the Mavericks will be an exciting one, as the teams have traded wins over the last few years and the battle is always exciting.