LAKEWOOD, CO- The Cougars took on Westminster University on Friday evening as they entered a pivotal stretch of the regular season. Behind the Griffins by half a game in the RMAC standings, CCU came out firing and played their way to a very important victory by a score of 3-1. 

Set one began with an offensive clinic as the new-look offense was led by freshman setter Krista Traynor, who got her first start of her college career on Friday. She did not disappoint, quickly setting up Renee Phillips and Libby Goodman for kills to start the set out with a 3-0 lead. The set saw many momentum swings as the Griffins went up 9-6 before a CCU run put them ahead 10-9 after a Suzanna Conner ace. A long six-point run spearheaded by consecutive aces from Abby Breeding put the hosts in control, and Breeding eventually ended the set with a kill for a 25-20 victory. 

Westminster was intent on drawing level in the second set, and they played with a new fire to grab control of the set. However, a 20-14 lead became a 20-19 lead after a run from the Cougars led by kills from three different players. The Griffins settled down, though, and ended up taking the set 25-21 to level the match at one set apiece. 

Trailing initially, CCU showed great resiliency and found their way back into the set. A Conner kill tied it at 10, and later back-to-back aces from Traynor sent the Cougars ahead 18-15 and totally flipped momentum in the hosts favor. Breeding then tallied a few more kills to push her team further ahead, and they closed out a 25-19 set win with a kill from Phillips. 

Looking to push the match to a fifth set, the Griffins quickly jumped ahead in the fourth with a 7-2 lead early. The Cougars did not let up though, slowly chipping away at the lead throughout the set. Down 16-11, a big four-point run led by Phillips and Goodman kills cut the deficit to just one. From there it got interesting, as a 21-17 lead for the Griffins evaporated with the most efficient offense of the night from the Cougars. They went on a six-point run started by a kill from Connelly Kilgore and capped by a Kilgore kill as well. Breeding had three key kills in the stretch and Phillips had one as well. Suddenly trailing 23-21, WU got two back to tie things at 23 apiece. With the set tied at 24-24, a pair of untimely attack errors gave the Cougars a 26-24 set win as they claimed an important match with a strong effort all the way around. 

The balance from the offense was incredible, as Phillips tallied 16 kills, Goodman had 15 and Breeding chipped in 14. Traynor had a first collegiate start to remember, dishing out an eye popping 51 assists on the night. Lilly Woods dominated at the net with seven blocks, and libero Savannah Overson picked up 21 digs in a great team effort from Colorado Christian. 

The Cougars are back in action on October 21 as they host Colorado Mesa with first serve slated for 5 p.m. MST.