GRAND JUNCTION, CO - After dealing two back-to-back sweeps of their own, the Cougars were dealt one at the hands of the #20 Colorado Mesa Mavericks. The loss puts Colorado Christian 4-2 in conference play, and 9-6 overall. 

HOW IT HAPPENED - The first set started strong for the Cougars, with a 6-point lead at 17-11. Not letting the pressure weigh them down, the Mavericks offense stayed steady and capitalized on CCU errors to tie it up at 18-18. The set was again tied up at 22's before CMU scored three in a row to take set one 25-22. 

Carrying the momentum over to set two, the Mavericks were up 11-2 before the Cougars found their rhythm and were able to chip away at the difference. The teams found themselves tied up at 17s, and again at 20-20. Once again Colorado Mesa took advantage of errors to take the win by 3. 

The Cougars and Mavericks brought their best play into set three, going point-for-point and both teams landing their best hitting average of the match. Once again the teams were tied up at the end, with a score of 23-23 to put the pressure on. Colorado Mesa finished the match with two points in a row to end the battle after being tied up at 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23. 

Across the board the statistics were fairly even between the two teams, but the unforced errors for the Cougars gave the Mavericks the upper hand. Both teams tallied 10 blocks, and were just one dig apart (35 CMU, 34 CCU). 

Leading Colorado Christian offensively and tied for the match high in kills was Libby Goodman who finished with 10, followed by Abigail Newell and Lilly Woods with 7 and 6, respectively. Newell and Woods also had 3 aces a piece. Izzy Jones dished out 27 assists in the match, and 4 blocks. Defensively the Cougars were led by Jessa Rose with 13 digs, and Lilly Woods with 6 blocks. 

UP NEXT - The Cougars will be back at home for the next pair of matches, starting with Black Hills State on Friday, September 30th at 5pm and then South Dakota School of Mines on Saturday, October 1st at 3pm.