PUEBLO, CO- The Cougars headed to CSU Pueblo on Saturday in a matchup of teams with identical records in the RMAC. CCU battled hard in each set, but the Thunderwolves were able to find enough at the end of sets to claim the sweep in a match that was much closer than the final score appears. 

Colorado Christian came out hot in set one, taking a quick 6-2 lead after a kill from Renee Phillips and an ace from Suzanna Conner. CSUP went on a run from there and eventually led 16-14. CCU punched back and took an 18-17 lead after Phillips notched an ace, and Abby Newell and Phillips picked up a block to bring up set point at 24-23. After the hosts scored two straight, Lilly Woods put down a kill to make it 25-25. The Thunderwolves managed to score the last two to take a thrilling first set 27-25. 

Conner and Phillips notched another block as the defense continued to play well, and a Newell kill brought the game to 15-13 in favor of CSUP. A long run late in the set from the pack sent them into control as they closed out the set 25-17 for the 2-0 lead. 

The third set was a nailbiter throughout, and a Newell kill brought the set to 14-13. CSUP went on a run and eventually led 22-15, but the heart and resiliency of the Cougars showed up in a big way from there. Megan McNitt came up huge with a pair of kills, and a Phillips kill eventually gave them set point at 25-24. The teams would trade points from there as Newell had a pair of kills that sent the score to 27-27. An unfortunate roll of the ball on a serve trickled over on the final point for an ace as CSUP won 29-27 to claim the victory. 

Phillips paced the offense with 12 kills, and Conner added 10 followed by 9 from Newell. Izzy Jones continues to show her veteran experience with 40 assists, and libero Shelby Hernandez posted 18 digs. 

The Cougars continue their road trip with a matchup in Salt Lake City at Westminster University (Utah) on October 25 at 6 p.m. MST.