ST. GEORGE, UT – The Colorado Christian volleyball squad split the difference during their season opening trip at the Dixie State Classic.
After splitting their two matches on Friday to the start the event, the Cougars did the same on Saturday to close out their swing through the Beehive state.
Colorado Christian 3, Stanislaus State 2 (24-26, 21-25, 25-22, 25-21, 15-10)
Despite dropping the first two sets, the Cougars fought back to notch a thrilling victory in five sets. It is the second straight season a Colorado Christian squad has rallied from an 0-2 hole.
The lengthy match also meant another stat stuffing opportunity for the second straight day. The duo of Cali Bahnsen and Ashley Dyre each registered a team high 15 kills. Jacey Johnson went for 11 kills while Kristy Dick chipped-in an important nine-kill effort.
Maddie Burns continued to impress in her fourth start at the setter spot. Burns put together a 50-assist effort with seven digs. Mariela Gonzalez had a team high 26 digs with Christa Tucker adding 16.
As a team the Cougars put together a quality defensive effort along the front lines as they recorded 11 team blocks. From the service line they posted 11 service aces led by Kaira Smith's three.
The contest featured 13 lead changes but not one lead change during the final set. The Cougars took the lead from the start. The fifth frame was tied twice but Colorado Christian never trailed to conclude the rally.
Simon Fraser 3, Colorado Christian 0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-17)
A steady effort from the Clan kept them in control as they only NCAA school from Canada posted the sweep.
Despite another double figure kill performance from Ashley Dyre (11), the Cougars couldn't put another player in the 10-plus kill category. The sophomore account for one-third of the Colorado Christian kill output.
Conversely, four separate players for Simon Fraser posted at least seven kills with three of those players notching at least a .400 hitting percentage.
UP NEXT: The Cougars continued their road swing with four matches next weekend at Dallas Baptist.
