DENTON, TX- Colorado Christian started play at the Denton Volleyfest on Thursday night with a matchup against host Texas Woman's University. The game was tight throughout, and both teams claimed two straight sets before an eventful fifth set that saw the Pioneers barely edge CCU for the victory.
The hosts started strong with seven straight points to begin the first set, but a kill from
Abby Breeding tightened the gap to 8-4. An ace from
Renee Phillips made it 11-9, but a run from TWU made it 19-11. In the end, the deficit was too large to overcome as the hosts claimed a 25-19 victory.
The Pioneers got off to another hot start, jumping ahead 5-2.
Lilly Woods slammed one home to make it 14-12, but another run saw TWU stretch the lead to an eventual 25-21 set win.
Woods and
Suzanna Conner got the offense going as the third set stood tied at 7, and an
Abby Newell slam made it 12-10. The Pioneers went on a run from there, but the Cougars were undeterred and fought back to a 21-19 lead on an ace from
Shelby Hernandez. Four straight points to close the set sent the teams to a fourth set as CCU won 25-20.
Intent on pushing the match to a fifth set, CCU remained consistent throughout and never led TWU separate. Trailing 16-12, CCU went on a pivotal three point run on a kill from Newell and back-to-back aces from Phillips. Trailing 23-22, the Cougars took advantage of a service error and pair of attack errors with an emphatic match point block from Newell and Phillips for the 25-23 set win.
The fifth set was a nailbiter to the very end, and
Connelly Kilgore got the scoring started with a kill. The teams went back and forth from there, as an
Izzy Jones ace put CCU ahead 6-5. A four point run from the Pioneers sent them ahead by three, but once again the Cougars proved resilient, chipping away at the lead and tying the set at 12 apiece after a Newell kill. Newell found a new gear, as the teams traded points and each of the next three points came off of kills from the senior from California. The teams fought to a 15-15 tie, but in the end the hosts managed to get the next two points to claim the 17-15 victory in a five set battle.
The offense was stellar throughout, led by Newell with an incredible 15 kills.
Abby Breeding followed with 13 while Phillips notched 12. Jones dished out a stellar 52 assists while Woods led with six blocks. Hernandez was strong at libero with 19 digs while Breeding had 15 followed by Jones with 13.
The Cougars continue play in Texas September 13 with a morning match at 8 a.m. MST against Midwestern State followed by a 6 p.m. match against Pittsburg State.
