GOLDEN, CO- The Cougars closed play at the Oredigger Classic as they took on a Northern State team that was previously unbeaten at the tourney and receiving votes in the top 25 coaches poll. CCU showed grit and resilience as they battled for a five-set victory over the Wolves to close 2-1 in Golden.
After a close start to the first set, the Wolves took a 10-5 lead and never looked back as they powered their way to a 25-13 set victory.
The Cougars were determined to get even in set two, and they battled to an 11-8 lead after a kill from
Suzanna Conner.
Krista Traynor,
Connelly Kilgore and Conner helped CCU take a 17-14 advantage, and
Aaliyah Simpson and Traynor eventually gave their team a 22-17 lead after kills. NSU rallied back to lead 23-22, but the Cougars showed their fight as
Sienna Thatcher came up with two huge points on a kill and ace to bring up set point. Kilgore ended things with an emphatic kill to level the match at 1-1 with a 25-23 set win.
Northern State bounced back in set three as they took an early 6-2 lead. The Wolves continued to expand their lead, going ahead 16-7. They went on to score nine straight from there, taking a convincing 25-7 victory.
Back-to-back kills from Thatcher and a
Kate Kopas ace had CCU ahead 3-0 early in set four. Simpson and Traynor comboed for a block, while a Kilgore ace made it 13-6 in favor of CCU.
Giselle Haugen tallied a kill and Thatcher finished with a slam to send the match to the fifth set with a 25-15 victory.
After the final set stood tied at 3-3, the Cougars rattled off three straight points capped by a Thatcher ace. Another huge run of four points ensued for a 10-5 lead as a Kilgore slam and Simpson ace led the run. The closest the Wolves would get was 13-10 as CCU a Thatcher kill and Wolves error clinched the match 15-10 in favor of the Cougars as they won their second five-set match of the season.
Thatcher once again paced the offense, picking up 15 kills for the second straight night, followed by Traynor and Conner with 13. Sienna added a team high 3 aces and 11 digs, while Traynor and
Kendra Runyon dished out 27 and 14 assists respectively.
Sitting at 2-1 on the season, the Cougars will now head West to the San Diego Invite hosted by Point Loma. CCU will start play against Winona State on September 3 at 4 p.m. MST.
