DENTON, TX- The Cougars continued play at the Denton Volleyfest on Friday with a pair of matchups against Midwestern State and Pittsburg State. In the first matchup against the Mustangs, CCU used a highly efficient offense and excellent defense to pick up the sweep. They continued with another strong game against Pittsburg State as they picked up yet another sweep to close the day 2-0 and climb above .500 at 4-3 on the young season. 

GAME ONE
Abby Breeding and Suzanna Conner started hot with two kills apiece as the offense got going. A five point run from the Mustangs put them ahead 12-8, But a pair of Renee Phillips kills and one from Abby Newell tightened the gap to one point at 17-16. Trailing 23-19, the offense found another level as four straight points on kills from Lilly Woods, two from Conner and one from Breeding sent CCU ahead 23-22. The resilience of the Cougars was displayed yet again as they faced set point at 25-24 but never flinched. Conner put down a kill to tie it, and after a MWSU attack error, Phillips closed the set out with another kill for the gritty 27-25 win. 

With the momentum squarely with the Cougars, they started strong and never looked back in set two. Kills from Phillips and Newell made it 9-3 early on, and the offense continued to dominate with six straight kills to grab an 18-7 advantage. Breeding and Phillips closed things out with two kills apiece in the last five points for a comfortable 25-10 set win. 

With the sweep in sight, CCU pressed their advantage with seven straight points early led by kills from Woods, Conner and Breeding and consecutive aces from Shelby Hernandez. Setter Izzy Jones was clinical throughout, setting up her hitters for success as the offense hit for a percentage of .393. The powerful offensive display continued to the end, as a Woods kill, Jones ace and Conner kill closed out a 25-16 set win for the convincing sweep. 

54 of the 75 points scored by the Cougars came from kills, an incredible statistic in a three-set match. The offense was led by Breeding with 16 kills, followed by Conner with 13 and 11 from Phillips. With an assist total typically seen in a five set match, Jones dished out an astounding 47 assists to lead her team. Hernandez notched an impressive 22 digs followed by 13 from Breeding and 12 from Jones. 

GAME TWO
The Cougars closed the night with a matchup against Pittsburg State, and they picked up where they left off in game one in the morning. Savannah Overson picked up a kill followed by slams from Newell and Phillips for a 5-4 lead. A four point run led by kills from Conner and Breeding sent CCU ahead 13-10, and a Jones ace later put them ahead 21-17. The Gorillas fought back to tie the set at 22, but Conner picked up a pair of kills to close things out with a 25-23 set win. 

The offense continued to click as Phillips put down consecutive kills, and a Conner slam sent the Cougars ahead 13-6. Back-to-back kills from Newell pushed the CCU advantage to 18-10, and they closed out the set easily on a Breeding kill for a 25-16 victory. 

Looking for their second sweep of the day, CCU scored four quick points early, and kills from Phillips and Newell grew the lead to 16-9. Jones tallied a kill for a 19-11 lead, and a Conner kill gave the Cougars match point at 24-19. A Gorillas attack error ended things as CCU took the final set 25-19 for the impressive sweep. 

A balanced offensive attack was led by Newell with 12 kills while Conner had 11 followed by Breeding with 10. Jones led the team in both assists and digs with 39 and 16 respectively. Hernandez and Breeding each had 10 digs apiece, while Woods had a pair of blocks to bolster the defense. 

Colorado Christian closes play in Texas September 14 against University of Arkansas Fort Smith at 10:30 a.m. MST.