LAKEWOOD, CO- The Cougars returned home on Saturday after nearly a month away from the CCU Event Center as they took on Adams State. A back and forth affair went the way of the Grizzlies in a five-set marathon as CCU dropped a tough one on their home court.

A long run early in the first set from CCU was keyed by kills from Suzanna Conner and Alissa Gregory-Obiedo and an ace from Kate Ringer for a 9-4 advantage. The Grizzlies clawed their way back, taking a 16-13 lead at one point. The Cougars rallied from there, scoring the next six points as Emily Darwin had a kill and Janelle Deboer recorded an ace for a 19-16 lead. Connelly Kilgore closed the set out strong for her team with a trio of kills including consecutive slams for the 25-20 win. 

A dominant start to set two saw Colorado Christian race ahead 9-2 early. Several runs from the Grizzlies brought the score to 14-10, and they climbed all the way back to a 16-16 tie. Sierra Crist eventually gave her team the 20-18 lead with a kill, and CCU earned set point at 24-20 off a Conner kill. Four straight from ASU tied the set at 24-24, and after trading points, the Grizzlies stole the set 28-26 to even the match at 1-1. 

Adams State rode the momentum from their late rally in set two to roll to a set three victory, jumping ahead 13-4 and eventually taking the set 25-16. 

Not going down without a fight, the Cougars bounced back in the fourth set in a back and forth affair. Tied at 14, CCU won five of the next seven points to go on top 19-16 off a kill from Kilgore. The Cougars closed the set out strong with a 25-19 victory to push things to a fifth set. 

CCU got behind 5-0 to start the fifth and could never quite recover. A kill from Kilgore and a block by Deboer and Conner brought it to 5-3, but the Grizzlies eventually surged ahead 10-4. The Cougars fought to the end but ended up falling 15-9 in the fifth. 

Conner and Kilgore had stellar nights with 17 kills apiece, while Crist tallied 14. Danielle Seabern had 34 assists and Ringer dished out 24. Kilgore had a double-double as she added 16 digs to lead her team in that category, while Kristina House and Savannah Majeski had 12 and 10 digs respectively. 

Colorado Christian continues their homestand on November 11 with a matchup against New Mexico Highlands at 6 p.m. MST.