COLORADO SPRINGS – Redshirt sophomore
Natalie Gallegos paced Adams State with 12 kills, but University of Colorado at Colorado Springs hit a robust .348 on the night to take a 25-11, 25-21, 20-25, 25-15 win over the Grizzlies tonight in the Gallogly Events Center.
The loss drops ASU to 4-9 overall and 1-4 in RMAC play, and is the third-straight setback to UCCS after dropping both pre-season contests to the Mountain Lions.
Riley Rabedeaux added 10 to give ASU two players with double-digit kills, with
Anna Huggins contributing nine.
The opener saw the hosts take an early 8-3 lead and increase it to 20-6 deeper into the set en route to a decisive 25-11 set-one decision.
UCCS sizzled by hitting .613 in the frame compared to just .156 for the Grizzlies.
The Grizzles awoke from their slumber to begin set two, tying UCCS 11 times in the early going, the last at 13-all.
After the Mountain Lions scored the next two points, a Gallegos putaway kept the Grizzlies close, providing a preview of things to come.
ASU stayed as close as three points nearly the rest of the frame until UCCS built a 22-18 lead, winning the set by four to take a two-sets-to-none lead.
Down two sets, ASU raced to a 5-0 lead behind
Aileen Bugas' strong serve to open the third.
After ASU pushed its lead to 12-4 on a bad set by the hosts, the Mountain Lions outscored the Grizzlies 11-6 to get to within 18-15, but an
Anna Huggins kill, another UCCS ball-handling error and a
Madeleine Benally service ace gave the visitors breathing room at 21-15, with a
Riley Rabedeaux hammer on set point finishing the frame and cutting ASU's deficit to two sets to one.
In the fourth, the two teams split the first 18 points before the hosts scored three straight as part of a 10-1 run to take a commanding 19-10 lead, prompting an ASU time-out.
That only delayed the inevitable, however, as the Mountain Lions used a 6-5 run to close the set and the match, 3-1.
Twelve more attack errors proved costly for ASU, as did 6.0 blocks compared to 15.0 for the hosts.
Adams State looks to get back in the win column tomorrow night as it travels to Colorado State University Pueblo for a 4 pm first serve
