ALAMOSA, Colorado — In their first home match of the week, Adams State Women's Volleyball takes the match 3 sets to 2 in a back-and-forth contest against New Mexico Highlands. The Grizzlies take sets 1, 3, and 5 to win and put their record at 5-9(1-3 RMAC).
Tonight's match was truly a back-and-forth contest, with Adams State and New Mexico Highlands trading sets until the Grizzlies took the final set to win in front of their home crowd. Each set in tonight's victory for the Grizzlies outside of set 1 was decided by 5 or fewer points, making it a truly hard-fought win for the Grizzly women.
Looking at each set, in set 1 tonight, the Grizzlies took early momentum, winning 25-16. The Grizzlies started strong, dominating New Mexico Highlands by recording 7 more kills and 3 fewer errors. Along with their offensive dominance in the first set, the Grizzlies also contained the Highlands' offense, holding them to a 0.031% hitting percentage.
Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, they were not able to hold this momentum as New Mexico Highlands was able to fight back in set 2, taking it by a score of 25-23. In set 2, the Grizzlies truly beat themselves as they committed 9 errors, which allowed the Cowboys to take hold of set 2, evening the score 1-1.
In set 3, the Grizzlies made their adjustments, committing only 6 errors and collecting 14 kills to take the set 25-23 and giving them a 2 set to 1 advantage. Once again, though, the Cowboys bounced back with a strong performance in set 4 with 16 kills and a hitting percentage of 0.353% which was a massive difference from their first 3 sets, where they struggled to have successful attacks on the Grizzlies' defense. Ultimately, with their more successful offense, the Cowboys took set 4 by a score of 25-22, evening up the overall score 2-2 going into the fifth and final set.
In the final set of the night, the Grizzlies displayed strong defense and an impressive offensive attack that led to a 15-10 victory in set 5, securing the match win with a 3-2 overall score. In that decisive set, the Grizzlies recorded 10 kills and a hitting percentage of 0.217, which gave them the edge and allowed them to secure a close victory at home.
Individually, for the Grizzlies, they were led by Hadleigh Richardson, Katie Bauer, Peyton Priddy, and Logan Conlin. Hadleigh Richardson had herself an all-around great night as she collected 25 kills, 1 serving ace, 1 block, and 16 digs. Richardson's 25 kills led the team, and her 16 digs were second on the team behind Conlin, who led the team with 23. Her serving ace was also 1 of 7 the Grizzlies collected on the night and was also second on the team, tied with Priddy and behind teammate Ashlyn Jones, who led the team in serving aces with 2. The next individual to have a standout night was Bauer, who ended the night with the second most kills with 13, while also leading the team in blocks with 4. Bauer's strong impact both offensively and defensively played a huge role in tonight's close win for the Grizzlies.
Looking ahead for the Grizzlies, they will have three more home games here in Alamosa before hitting the road again. Their next home game is scheduled for this week on Friday, October 3rd. The game will start at 5 PM MST and will be against Fort Lewis College. Although it will be a non-conference game for the Grizzlies, it offers them a chance to win a second consecutive home game before their busy RMAC schedule begins next week.
