LACEY, WA- Colorado Christian concluded tournament play in Washington on Saturday with a pair of matchups against Western New Mexico and Western Oregon. The Cougars rallied from two sets down against the Mustangs for a five set victory before downing the Wolves in four sets to complete the two-game sweep on the day.

GAME ONE- Taking on Western New Mexico in the first contest of the day, the Cougars and Mustangs started evenly with the score tied at 11 midway through the set. WNMU began to pull away towards the end of the set, taking a 22-18 lead. However, a rally from Colorado Christian tied the score at 24 before the Mustangs scored two straight to take the set 26-24.

WNMU jumped ahead early in set two, quickly snagging a 12-6 advantage. They continued to press the lead and eventually put the set away 25-18.

The Cougars fell behind early in set three, but they were resolute on keeping the match going. Down 11-6 they began to chip away at the lead. A long run capped by a Savannah Overson ace put Colorado Christian ahead 19-16. The two teams battled to a 25-25 tie where the Cougars came up clutch with consecutive points to claim the set 27-25.

Using the momentum from the previous set, the Cougars jumped ahead 7-1 on a kill from Libby Goodman. They continued to push as a kill from Overson made it 13-3. Colorado Christian put the set out of reach as the gap grew even more, eventually culminating in a 25-10 set win.

Pushing for victory, the Cougars snagged a 5-1 lead early. Kills by Izzy Jones and Overson made it 11-4, and Madelyn Long sealed the win with an ace as the fight set ended in favor of Colorado Christian 15-7.

GAME TWO- Closing the tournament against Western Oregon, the Cougars were intent on winning their second game of the day and third overall in Washington. A very evenly played first set led to a tie at 19 apiece. Trailing 23-21, the Cougars rattled off four straight points including back-to-back aces from Jones to take the set 25-23. 

A slew of Wolves errors put Colorado Christian ahead 8-3 early, but Western Oregon fought back. A big run had the Wolves leading 15-10, and they eventually staved off a Cougars rally to claim the set 25-22.

After a set that stayed close for the majority, the Cougars experience and lack of errors began to make a difference. A Wolves error made it 22-16 and an Overson kill put Colorado CHristian one set away from victory as they claimed set three 25-18. 

The two teams battled to a 12-12 tie midway through the set, and then the Wolves went on a run to claim a 16-13 lead. Trailing 22-16 the Cougars refused to go away, clawing their way back as Renee Phillips and Goodman kills made it a tie at 23. The trio of Goodman, Phillips and Overson put the game away with three kills to close things as they claimed victory with a 26-24 win. 

 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Libby Goodman put down 37 kills on the day as she continued to dominate, earning all tournament honors with 65 kills over four games in Washington

• Izzy Jones had another stellar day, tallying 87 assists through two games on the day, taking home all tournament honors with a total of 149 assists over the weekend

• Jessa Rose picked up 16 digs in game one while Madelyn Long recorded 19 in game two

UP NEXT- The Cougars preseason comes to a close and they will start RMAC play at Adams State on September 7 at 7 p.m. MST.