ALAMOSA, Colorado — In a hard-fought match against Fort Lewis, the Grizzlies fall short, ending their six-match winning streak. In tonight's match, the Grizzlies fell to Fort Lewis 3 sets to 1, winning the first set before unfortunately dropping three straight sets to lose tonight's match. The loss puts the Grizzlies at a record of 10-10(5-4 RMAC).
The story of tonight's match was the Grizzlies' inability to get any consistent offense rolling. During the match, the Grizzlies struggled to collect kills with a below-average hitting percentage compared to their normal offensive numbers. In tonight's match, they were only able to collect 51 kills, while finishing with a 0.118 hit percentage. On top of their lack of offense, the Grizzlies had a tough time later in the match with errors, allowing Fort Lewis to close out the final two sets to win the match. In sets 3 and 4, the Grizzlies committed 15 errors to Fort Lewis's 7, giving Fort Lewis the upper hand and the ability to close out the match.
Looking closer at the overall statistical breakdown between the two teams, Fort Lewis had the upper hand in every major category outside of blocks. In kills, Fort Lewis collected 55 to the Grizzlies' 51. As well, Fort Lewis collected 6 serving aces to the Grizzlies' 3, 51 assists to our 49, and 83 digs to 81 by the Grizzlies. The one category the Grizzlies had the edge was blocks, where they had 11 to Fort Lewis's 10. Overall, it was an extremely close match, but with the Grizzlies committing more errors and struggling to collect kills, Fort Lewis was able to take today's match.
Individually, for the Grizzlies, they were led by Hadleigh Richardson, Katie Bauer, and Amar'e Stout. Richardson, Bauer, and Stout led the Grizzlies in total points, with Richardson collecting 20 points, Stout collecting 12 points, and Bauer collecting 8.5. Overall, the three women combined for 40.5 of the Grizzlies' 65 total points. Diving deeper into these three women's play, Richardson collected 19 kills and 12 digs, Stout collected 10 kills, 3 blocks, and 10 digs, and Bauer collected 6 blocks. Richardson's 19 kills led the Grizzlies, while her 12 digs were second on the team. Stout's 10 kills were second on the team behind Richardson, and her 10 digs were third on the team behind Richardson and Logan Conlin, who led the team with 21 digs on the night. Lastly, Bauer's 6 blocks led the team for the Grizzlies, giving them a strong anchor on defense in tonight's match.
Up next for the Grizzlies will be Western Colorado in another home match tomorrow, Saturday, October 25th. The match against Western will be played at 2 PM in Plachy Hall and will be a great opportunity for the Grizzlies to get back on track with only 5 more RMAC conference matches. As the season winds down, the Grizzlies are currently tied for eighth place in conference with the opportunity to jump up in the rankings with 3 of their final 5 RMAC matches being against teams that are currently above them in the RMAC standings. Come out and support the Grizzlies tomorrow as they continue their journey, seeking to make their first RMAC tournament appearance under Coach Ramser's leadership.
