LAKEWOOD, CO - The Colorado Christian Cougars matched up against the formerly 19-1 Mavericks in their second to last home game of the season. The Cougars upset Colorado Mesa, the ninth ranked team in the nation and currently second in the RMAC, in a tough match that took every last point to win.
The Cougars pulled ahead of the Mavericks early on in the first set following multiple blocks from the duo of Lilly Woods and Krista Traynor, and a kill from Libby Goodman. The lead continued to grow as Renee Phillips served two aces in a row, causing CMU to call a timeout. Halfway through the set the Cougars were up 12-6, and continued to pull ahead following impressive kills from Connelly Kilgore and Goodman. Colorado Mesa rallied late in the set, closing the gap to 21-18, with Colorado Christian still ahead. Junior Abby Breeding responded with a dangerous kill and much needed dig to keep the Cougars in the lead. It was a hard fought battle to the end, but the Cougars sealed the victory in the first set with the final point after a kill from Goodman to win 25-23.
The second set was close right from the first serve. The Cougars and the Mavericks both fought hard for the advantage, staying within a few points of each other all throughout. Abby Breeding brought the score back to a draw nearly halfway through the set with remarkable kill. Krista Traynor and Renee Phillips also scored multiple points for the Cougars, helping the home team pull ahead. Sophomore Savannah Overson had a stellar serve as well leading to a 13-10 score halfway through the first set. Colorado Christian held an impressive 5 point run as they continued to widen the score. Similar to the first set the Mavericks rallied late, bringing the score to 21-18. A kill from Breeding put the Cougars ahead at 23-18. A well-placed tip from Renee Phillips finalized the second set, giving the Cougars the win by 6.
With Colorado Christian leading 2-0, the pressure was on for Colorado Mesa to respond in the third set. The Cougars did not let up, continuing to defend against the Mavericks attempts at pulling far ahead. The Mavericks 5 point run was ended by a nice kill from Lilly Woods, followed by two in a row from Kilgore. A kill from Abby Breeding brought the score back to 12-10, the Cougars barely trailing behind. The back half of the set was incredibly close, with the score tied at 19-19. Mesa pulled ahead with a 5 point run to win the set 25-20, making the overall score 2-1, Cougars with the advantage.
In the fourth set, the Mavericks started with an early lead, but kills from both Renee Phillips and Connelly Kilgore put the Cougars back in the mix. Colorado Mesa rallied, bringing the score to 19-9 for the lead late in the set. Colorado Christian put some incredible plays together, but Mesa ultimately claimed the set 25-14.
The fifth set was an extremely tight battle, and as exciting as a match can get - every point resulted in a roar from the crowd. The Mavericks started out hot, going on a run to start 3-0. A kill by Goodman and an ace from Traynor brought the score to 5-3 to put CCU back in the game. Mesa had another 3 point run, but Breeding had a momentum building kill to bring the score to 10-6, Cougars still playing catch-up. Colorado Christian had multiple blocks from Abby Breeding and Renee Phillips, and a much needed dig from Overson. Late in the set the teams were going point for point. Breeding showed up with a huge kill to tie up the set at 12-12, after trailing by 6 at 12-6. The set grew even more intense with the score continually being tied and each team fighting for advantage. The Mavericks had the advantage by 1 for a few rallies and seemed to hold the upper hand, but the Cougars stayed strong under pressure and finally pulled ahead at 17-16. The teams were tied at 18s, when another kill from Abby Breeding gave the Cougars the advantage by 1. Renee Phillips sealed the victory with a solo block on the Mavericks top hitter of the night, giving the Cougars the victory at 20-18. This upset was a well-deserved, well-fought, and incredibly exciting victory for the Cougars.
Leading the offense tonight were outside hitters Libby Goodman and Abby Breeding, with 17 and 16 kills respectively. Also in double digits was opposite Connelly Kilgore, who finished with 12. Middle blocker Lilly Woods rounded out the double digit crew with 10, and also led the Cougars in hitting percentage with an impressive .588. Leading in digs with 15 was Abby Breeding, followed by Alli Douglass and Savannah Overson with 12 and 11, respectively. Dishing out 52 assists in her second college game was Krista Traynor, who showed up big for the Cougars this weekend. The Cougars out blocked Mesa 14-8, which was essential in securing their win.
Coming up next, the Cougars will be just down the road for a pair of non-conference matches as they face Colorado School of Mines and Colorado State University Pueblo on October 26th and 27th in Golden, Colorado.
