LAKEWOOD,CO- Colorado Christian returned home for a matchup against New Mexico highlands on Friday. The Cougars battled well throughout, picking up the sweep of the Cowgirls to improve to 7-4 in conference play.

HOW IT HAPPENED- Set one was tight through the majority of play, as Libby Goodman gave her team a 9-7 lead with a kill. CCU took a 23-20 lead late in the set on a Renee Phillips ace, and Alli Douglass slammed one home and the Cougars secured a 25-21 set win. 

A strong start to set two saw Colorado Christian jump ahead 3-0 on a Phillips kill. A flurry of attack errors from the Cowgirls stretched the lead to 8-4, but New Mexico Highlands did not go down without a fight. NMHU rallied to tie the set at 19 apiece as things got close down the stretch. Kills from Goodman and Phillips gave the Cougars a 23-21 advantage, and several costly Cowgirl errors late gave CCU the set 25-23. 

Looking to close out the sweep, CCU came out swinging in set three, racing to an 8-3 lead on a kill from Abigail Newell. That lead stretched to 11-4 on several NMHU errors as things looked to be well in hand. However, the Cowgirls yet again battled back, going on several runs to tie the set at 17 all. A momentum swinging three-point run led by a Lilly Woods kill and Newell ace had the Cougars up 21-18 late. The teams traded points down the stretch, and Goodman ultimately scored the last two points for her team with timely kills to finish the sweep 25-23. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Libby Goodman led the offense with 18 kills with a .484 attack percentage. Renee Phillips followed with eight kills on .471 hitting.
• Izzy Jones tallied 35 assists, also picking up an ace and seven digs
• Tarryn Debenedetto notched nine digs from her libero position, and Alli Douglass posted seven on the night