IRVINE, CA- The Cougars continued play at the Golden Eagle Classic in Southern California on Friday with a pair of contests. After falling in their first matchup to a talented Alaska Fairbanks team, CCU bounced back with a dominant display in a sweep over Ursuline College. 

GAME ONE 
The Cougars jumped ahead of the Nanooks early, taking a 5-2 advantage on a Renee Phillips kill. The two teams battled back and forth from there, and the set stood tied at 24 late. However, Alaska Fairbanks managed to claim the final two points for a 26-24 victory. 

The Nanooks jumped ahead early in set two and never really looked back, taking control with a 14-6 lead. A kill from Janelle DeBoer closed the gap, and an Abby Breeding slam saw CCU claw to within four. Abby Newell notched back-to-back kills as the end of the set approached at 22-20. Like the prior set, Alaska Fairbanks closed strong with three straight for a 25-20 set win. 

Another fast start to the third set saw CCU fall behind, but they never quit throughout the match. Phillips and Breeding kills closed the gap to 15-12, but the Nanooks controlled play from there as they went on to claim a 25-17 set win for the victory. 

Newell paced the offense with nine kills followed by Breeding with eight. Izzy Jones dished out 29 assists and Shelby Hernandez continued her strong start to the season with 15 digs. 

GAME TWO
The second game of the day took on an entirely different complexion than the Cougars' first matchup as they faced off against Ursuline College. It was clear from the first serve who the better team was, and Megan McNitt sent her team ahead 5-2 with a pair of kills. Jones then started to put on a clinic, facilitating the offense masterfully and picking up assists off of kills from Lilly Woods, McNitt and Suzanna Conner. Leading 12-3, an unprecedented 13-point run capped an incredible 25-3 set one victory. 

Ursuline put up a better fight in the second set, even taking a lead at 6-5 early. But the Cougars were up to the task and saw four kills in a row to push the lead to 14-9. A Jones ace and several more kills from Breeding made it 19-12, and the Cougars closed out a 25-17 set two win. 

With a sweep in sight, CCU continued to dominate, scoring nine straight led by a pair of aces from Krista Traynor and a kill from Alissa Gregory-Obiedo. The onslaught continued from there as Mcnitt registered consecutive kills while Conner and McNitt ended things with a final kill apiece for a 25-12 victory for the sweep. 

McNitt was stellar with a team high 12 kills followed by Breeding with nine and Conner with seven. Woods was a force at the net with five locks while Jones dished out 18 assists. Hernandez paced the defense with 14 digs followed by Mcnitt with seven and Jones with six. 

Colorado Christian close play in California September 7 at 10 a.m. MST as they take on Northwest Nazarene University.