IRVINE, CA- Colorado Christian got their season underway on Thursday night as they took on Concordia University Irvine on the road. After splitting the first two sets, the hosts managed to claim a pair of very competitive sets to close out a 3-1 victory in a hard fought battle. 

Freshman Megan McNitt got her collegiate career started as she scored the first point of the season with a kill. Abby Breeding continued with a pair of kills, and Renee Phillips tied the set at 6 apiece with a kill of her own. The Golden Eagles went on a run from there to claim a 14-8 lead, and they stretched the lead into a 25-16 first set win. 

The second set was highly competitive, and the Cougars got off to a 7-5 victory after a pair of aces from Suzanna Conner. Abby Newell got in on the action with a kill to start a very productive night from the senior playing in her home state of California. An ace from libero Shelby Hernandez and two more kills from Newell sent CCU ahead 16-8. With a 24-18 lead in hand off a Conner kill, CUI rallied for six straight points to tie the set at 24. The teams traded points from there, but a pair of costly attack errors from the hosts gave CCU a 27-25 set win. 

Conner and Breeding got the third set off to a hot start with kills to make it 4-0 early. A Phillips kill and Hernandez ace made it 9-5, but the Golden Eagles battled back to claim a 12-10 advantage. A four-point run led by a kill from Lilly Woods, an ace from Newell and a Conner kill made it 14-12 in favor of the visitors, and with the end of the set approaching, the teams stood knotted at 17 apiece. The two teams eventually battled to a 24-24 tie, but the final two points went the way of the hosts in a 26-24 set win. 

 Breeding started the fourth set on fire, notching three kills in a row to take a 5-3 lead. Newell followed that up with consecutive kills for an 8-6 advantage, and Woods chipped in a pair of kills for a 13-7 lead. CUI fought their way back, and the score sat at 15-15 as the teams grappled for an advantage. Izzy Jones notched a kill to tie the set at 18, but the Golden Eagles took control from there, scoring the final seven points of the match in a 25-18 set win for a 3-1 victory. 

Breeding led the offense with 13 kills, while Newell notched 12 followed by nine from Phillips. Jones was stellar with 41 assists to facilitate the offense, and Woods chipped in a pair of blocks. Hernandez led the defense with 15 digs while Breeding followed with 11. 

The Cougars continue play at the Golden Eagle Classic with a pair of games on September 6 starting with a 12:30 p.m.  tilt with University of Alaska Fairbanks and closing with a 5:30 p.m. matchup with Ursuline College.