ALAMOSA – Natalie Gallegos led Adams State with 15 kills on the evening, but visiting Colorado School of Mines converted 15 more attacks en route to a 25-19, 25-27, 25-19, 25-22 win over the Grizzlies to kick off Hall of Fame Weekend.
The Grizzlies drop to 4-11 overall, and 1-5 in RMAC action.
The two teams split the first 24 points to open the match before the Orediggers went on a 6-2 run to take an 18-14 lead deep in set one, eventually taking the first set by six.
Adams State regrouped in set two, turning a 4-4 tie into an 8-4 lead behind
Aileen Bugas' strong serve and three consecutive CSM attack errors.
The Grizzlies upped their lead to 16-10 on an
Anna Huggins putaway, pushing their lead as much at seven at 20-13 on a
Cindy Garcia hammer seven points later.
CSM regrouped, rattling of six-straight before eventually taking a 23-22 lead. Huggins, however, put an end to that run with a kill to tie the set at 23-all, spurring a final home run that saw ASU outscore CSM 4-2 to take a 27-25 win, tying the match at one set each.
The two teams went toe-to-toe after intermission with six ties early before the visitors went on a 7-2 run to take a 14-9 lead. Behind a pair of Garcia kills and one by Huggins, Adams State crept to within 14-13, only to have CSM answer with a 4-0 run to keep ASU at arm's length and eventually take set three by a 25-19 count.
The Orediggers continued to put pressure on the hosts, turning a 10-10 tie into a 13-10 lead. Two more Garcia kills cut ASU's deficit to just one before the Grizzlies caught the visitors at 16 on a CSM service error.
After Gallegos gave ASU a 17-16 lead one point later, CSM made its last run count, outscoring the hosts 7-1 to take a 23-17 lead, all but shutting the door on any would-be ASU comeback.
The Grizzlies made one final push with four-straight points to get to within two at 23-21 behind two Huggins kills, but CSM scored two of the final three points to put the match away, spoiling the start of ASU's Hall of Fame weekend.
Bugas finished with four aces to lead all players while
Madeleine Benally and
Sierra Leone Sanchez each tallied 21 assists to share the team lead in that category.
ASU will look to stop its five-match skid tomorrow night as Chadron State College visits Plachy Hall, with first serve set for 3 pm.
