ALAMOSA, Colo. – The Adams State Women's Volleyball team met with New Mexico Highlands for a Saturday night matchup. The Grizzlies successfully downed the Cowgirls in order to take the win for their seniors.
 
Adams State started the first set off by gaining a quick lead. Unfortunately, the lead wouldn't hold for long because the Cowgirls went on a run of their own to put them ahead 5-11. For every point the Grizzlies scored, the Cowgirls countered with a one, two, or three points of their own. New Mexico notched 16 kills and had a hitting percentage of .481 which was nearly three times of what the Grizzlies were hitting. It wasn't long before New Mexico took the first set with a score of 17-25.
 
Looking to bounce back from the first set, the Grizzlies started the second set off strong and doubled the Cowgirls score, putting themselves up 16-6 before New Mexico called a timeout. Despite the timeout, the Grizzlies kept their momentum and continued to pile on the points. Capitalizing on New Mexico's 10 attack errors and playing a dominant set, the Grizzlies took the second set 25-9.
 
Continuing from the second set, Adams State came out swinging and went on a run to give them a lead of 8-2. The Cowgirls attempted to close the large deficit, but Grizzlies determinedly kept New Mexico down. For a good portion of the set, the Grizzlies kept their score double of what the Cowgirls had. With a score of 19-8, New Mexico again called a time out in hopes to slow the Grizzlies attack down and ruin any momentum they had. Just when it began to look like the timeout worked, the Grizzlies attack shut the Cowgirls down and took the set. With 37 attack attempts and 13 kills, the Grizzlies won the third set 25-12.
 
Going into the fourth set, the Grizzlies were leading 2-1. The fourth set began in a much closer fashion than the previous sets with the Cowgirls looking to bounce back this set and prevent the Grizzlies from winning. For every point one team made, the other team matched to keep the game tied for the beginning. Slowly, the Grizzlies began to carve a small lead for themselves. Before the lead could become too large, the Cowgirls fought to tie it back up at 12-12 and then asserted their presence by pulling ahead 12-17. Highlands would keep the lead to capture the fourth set 17-24.
 
For the second night in a row, the Grizzlies would go to a fifth set in search of a win. The fifth set began just as the fourth did with the points being matched on each side. The Grizzlies attack went on a small run to put them ahead 8-4. Cowgirls fought to tie the set back up 9-9 and make it a tightly knit set yet again. Eventually the Grizzlies were able to pull ahead, taking the fifth set 15-12 , and win 3-2.
Leading the Grizzlies offense was Shannon Mulkey with 14 kills and Alexandra MacAskill with 11. Helping their hitters were setters Bailey Schlosser with 24 assists and Maya Waddington with 11 assists. On the defensive side, Mackenzie Swanson led with 20 digs followed by Hannah Goddard with 19 digs. Goddard also had 9 kills on the night, helping on both sides and having herself quite the senior night. The other senior on the team, Grecia Diaz Martinez, also had a good night with 7 kills and 4 digs.
 
Fighting to make the night a good one for their seniors, the Grizzlies battled it out until the end. With tonight's win, the Adams State Women's Volleyball team improves their overall record to 8-18 and their conference record to 5-12. They will look to carry the momentum from tonight's game into their last game of the season next weekend against Fort Lewis College.