THE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE OFCOLORADO CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

LAKEWOOD, CO- The Cougars played their second home match in as many days on Saturday as they took on South Dakota Mines inside the CCU Event Center. In an instant classic, CCU went back and forth with the Hardrockers and ultimately came away with a pivotal five-set victory.

Every single set of the contest was down to the wire, and set one began as a tight affair. Krista Traynor and Ana Aguilar got an early block, and a Sierra Crist kill and Jenna Bell block made it 11-8. Suzanna Conner eventually made it 14-10, but a five-point rally from SDM eventually saw them go ahead 17-16. Things continued to be neck and neck as CCU held a 23-22 lead late. A service error by the Hardrockers and a Sienna Thatcher kill gave the hosts a needed set win 25-22. 

South Dakota Mines surged to an early 6-2 lead early in set two, but a huge seven-point run from the Cougars led by Thatcher and Traynor kills made it 10-9 in favor of the hosts. The teams continued to go on mini runs of three points as the set stayed tight throughout, and CCU eventually went on top 23-22. The visitors proceeded to go on a three-point run to close out the set with a pair of kills and a block as they leveled the match at a set apiece. 

An early lead from South Dakota Mines once again disappeared as a four-point Cougars run capped by a Conner kill made it 5-4. Conner continued to ride the hot hand with an ace and kill, while another ace made it 17-13. The Hardrockers rallied back for a 19-17 advantage, and they ended up taking the set 25-22 to take the 2-1 lead. 

Needing a big set to force a fifth, the Cougars found themselves down 9-6 early. Once again they showed their grit and rallied back with an Aguilar kill to tie it at 11. SDM eventually took a 17-14 lead, but CCU stormed back with four straight points as Bell had a trio of kills in the stretch. With the two teams trading points, the score made its way to 23-23. Aguilar made it set point with a kill, and she and Crist sent things to the fifth set with a massive block for the 25-23 victory. 

In the 15-point fifth set, CCU got off to a strong start as the attack was firing on all cylinders with three straight kills from Bell, Conner and Thatcher. True to form from the rest of the match, neither team could gain separation as SDM rattled off four straight points to level the set at 10-10. After a Conner and Bell block, the visitors looked poised to take the set with three straight points for the 13-11 advantage. A timeout and reset did wonders for the Cougars as they began to mount a comeback. Conner and Aguilar had kills to tie the set, and Traynor hammered a kill down the line from the right side to give her team match point. After an exhausting and highly competitive match, it was the Cougars who came up big in the end as Thatcher hit an attack off the block to finish the match 15-13 for their second five-set victory in conference play. 

Thatcher was on fire from the outside, notching 22 kills to lead all attackers. Conner had 13 kills followed by 12 from Aguilar. Traynor was pivotal with 50 assists and 17 digs, while libero Allie Allen had an incredible 30 digs. Aguilar was strong with five blocks followed by a pair from Traynor and Bell. 

Now sitting at 3-1 in the RMAC, the Cougars will continue play with a non-conference matchup at crosstown rival MSU Denver on September 22 at 6 p.m. MST.