LAKEWOOD,CO- The Cougars played for the second straight day on Saturday, taking on South Dakota School of Mines at home. In a back and forth affair, CCU fell in five sets by a slim margin.

HOW IT HAPPENED- The two teams battled early in set one, as a kill from Renee Phillips put her team within two at 12-10. The Hardrockers pushed their lead to 18-12 at one point, but the Cougars remained calm and clawed back to 24 apiece on a kill from Abigail Newell. Newell again came through, picking up a pair of kills along with a kill from Jones as CCU took the last three points for a 27-25 set one win.

Set two was even as well, with the score knotted at 12 midway through. After South Dakota Mines took a 22-17 advantage, the Cougars yet again found a way to respond, bringing it to within two on a kill from Libby Goodman. An incredible series saw Colorado Christian take five straight to close the set with a 26-24 win, led by late kills from 

The Hardrockers came out firing in the third set, jumping ahead 17-10 quickly. They stretched the lead to 20-10 before a run from the Cougars cut the deficit to 21-15. They closed with a 25-16 set win to take things to a fourth set.

CCU jumped ahead in set four as Goodman slammed one home for an 8-4 lead. Another Goodman kill made it 11-5 for her team. A five point run from South Dakota Mines made it 17-16 in favor of the visitors before Newell tied things with a kill. Goodman recorded consecutive kills to make it 19 apiece. Trailing 24-21, the Cougars rattled off a pair of points to pressure, but the Hardrockers closed the set out 25-23 to force a fifth set.

In the 15-point final set, the two teams remained close early with a Phillips kill making it 6-5 SDM. The Hardrockers offense played well, picking up several kills to push their lead to 11-7. A Goodman kill and Hardrockers error cut the lead to 12-11, but South Dakota Mines finished strong to take the match with a 15-12 final set victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Libby Goodman led her team with 20 kills while Abigail Newell and Lilly Woods posted 13 apiece
• Izzy Jones racked up 51 assists for her team
• Newell posted 16 digs followed by Madelyn Long with 13