DALLAS – After an eight-game non-conference slate, Colorado Christian enters league play with a .500 record.
The Cougars completed their non-RMAC schedule by splitting two matches at the DBU Patriot Classic on Saturday. After playing two tournaments in back-to-back weekends, Colorado Christian's record stands at 4-4.
Colorado Christian 3, Henderson State 1 (25-22, 27-25, 22-25, 25-16)
It was a grind-it-out Saturday morning contest for the Cougars as they spread around the offense and got a variety of solid contributions from all players.
Four different players posted at least 10 kills while four different players had double figure dig efforts in the contest that took just over two hours to complete.
A back-and-forth first set saw the Cougars get just enough daylight in the ladder stages of the frame to take a one set lead. Despite facing two set points against them in the next stanza, Colorado Christian rallied by scoring five of the sets final six points to secure a 2-0 match lead.
Henderson State rallied as the kept the Cougars down just enough in the third frame to force another set. The Cougars wanted no part of another five-set contest as they raced out to a 13-6 lead in the fourth frame. Colorado Christian eventually built an 11-point edge before securing the win.
Cali Bahnsen had a team high 15 kills while Jacey Johnson was just behind her with a 13-kill effort. The duo of Katie Henry and Ashley Drye each registered 11 kills. The group contributed just over 83 percent of the team's kill output.
Directing that offense, once again, was Maddie Burns who put together one of her best statistical efforts of her career. The junior had 51 assists and 10 digs for her first ever double-double. Burns also had four kills.
Along the back row Mariela Gonzalez had another quality match with a 29-dig effort while Kaira Smith went for 23. Not to go unnoticed was Christa Tucker's 14 dig performance as the Cougars notched 103 digs as a team.
DBU 3, Colorado Christian 0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-20)
As the match unfolded the Patriots were able to stay in front at critical junctions in posting the victory.
In the opening set, the Cougars rallied to within two points at 21-19 and 22-20 but could not close the gap any closer as they fell behind in the match. The second frame saw the host team take the lead at 8-7 and never relinquish it. The final stanza was closely played early one but the Patriots took a 10-9 lead and made it 19-13. Colorado Christian as close as three points down the stretch but no closer.
The Patriot offense was steady as they notched a .296 hitting mark while the Cougars registered a .162 hitting percentage.
Cali Bahnsen had a team best 14 kills to lead the Cougars.
ALL TOURNAMENT: For their respective performances during the event, Bahnsen and Gonzalez were named to the all-tournament team.
UP NEXT: Colorado Christian begins RMAC play on Friday, Sept. 20 when they travel to Colorado School of Mines for a 7 p.m. contest.
