LAKEWOOD, CO – When Colorado Christian and UCCS get together on the volleyball court, there is one thing for certain. The match is bound to go the distance.

For the fourth straight match in the series, the two teams played all five sets. On Saturday evening Colorado Christian registered a 3-2 (25-21, 23-25, 25-19, 24-26, 15-11) victory.

The win assures a spot in the RMAC postseason tournament. The Cougars will be the sixth seed and travel to Colorado Mesa for a Tuesday contest.  

Also, prior to Saturday's match the program honored its three seniors – Breanna Allen, Ashley Drye and Kristy Dick.

HOW IT HAPPENED: In the opening set things started bleakly but ended quite successfully. UCCS raced out to a 13-7 lead as the Cougars took a timeout. Then slowly and methodically the home team grabbed control of the set. Down 18-14, Colorado Christian scored eight straight points to take control of the frame before claiming the early match lead a few points later.

The second set started in the same manner as the first as UCCS held an early lead. However, this time the Mountain Lions continued to hold that advantage as they went ahead 20-16 before Colorado Christian called their first timeout of the stanza. The consistency of the Cougars comeback continued as they went ahead 22-21 in forcing a Mountain Lion timeout. Back came the visitors as they rallied to take the frame's first set point at 24-23 then win it on their first opportunity.

Down 7-3, Colorado Christian rallied to take a 10-9 lead. After some back-and-forth points, the Cougars pushed ahead 19-15 and never looked back. UCCS tried to stop the home team's momentum with a pair of timeouts but the Cougars would not be denied a 2-1 lead in the match.

It was Colorado Christian who held the early lead in the fourth set. However, UCCS flipped the script as they rallied. The visitors rallied to take a consistent four-point lead before the stanza was tied at 18-18. The Mountain Lions proceeded to win three straight points to nab a 21-18 edge. However, the Cougars took three straight points of their own. After trading points, Colorado Christian had the first match point but UCCS won the next three points to force the decisive set.

The early points nudged the way in Colorado Christian's favor as they went ahead 7-5. The Cougars battled to keep that lead and eventually went ahead 14-11 in earning a host of match points. Libby Goodman ended the two-plus hour drama with a kill on the team's second match point.

COUGAR LEADERS: Goodman notched a match high 22 kills with a .396 hitting percentage. Allen had a 17-kill night with Lilly Woods chipping-in 12 kills.

Izzy Jones had another double-double with a 53-assist, 13-dig performance. Madelyn Long had a match high 26 digs.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

• Colorado Christian won the blocking battle 12.0-3.0
• The Cougars registered 11 service aces with just five service errors
• In the third set the Cougars had no hitting errors with 14 kills on 26 attempts

UP NEXT: Be sure to check the RMAC Tournament website page for complete information as it becomes available.