CANYON, Texas — The Adams State Grizzly Volleyball team opened the 2026 season on Friday with a pair of matches at the West Texas A&M Lady Buff Classic, battling Wisconsin-Parkside and Oklahoma Baptist in a doubleheader. The Grizzlies dropped both contests, falling to Wisconsin-Parkside in five sets, 3-2, before suffering a 3-1 setback against Oklahoma Baptist. With the two losses, Adams State begins the season 0-2.
Match One
In match one of the day, Adams State Volleyball opened the 2026 season with a hard-fought five-set battle against Wisconsin-Parkside on Friday morning falling 3-2 by scores of 21-25, 21-25, 25-20, 27-25 and 15-12.
The Grizzlies jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage, taking the opening two sets before Wisconsin-Parkside rallied to win the final three sets and claim the season-opening victory.
Adams State controlled the first set from the outset, finishing with 11 kills without an attack error while hitting .306 as a team. The Grizzlies carried that momentum into the second set, recording 16 kills and hitting .220 to take a 2-0 lead. Wisconsin-Parkside responded in the third set, while Adams State struggled to find its offensive rhythm. The Grizzlies finished the set with seven kills and 10 errors, as Parkside cut the deficit to 2-1.
Following a tough third set for the Grizzlies, the fourth set turned out to be the true turning point. Adams State battled throughout the frame and had opportunities to close out the match, but Wisconsin-Parkside ultimately edged the Grizzlies 27-25 to force a decisive fifth set. In the fifth, Adams State stayed within striking distance, but Parkside closed out the set 15-12 to complete the comeback.
For the Grizzlies, Isa Folau led the offense with 21 kills, finishing with a .281 attack percentage. She also added four block assists, one service ace and 17 digs for 24 points. Lizzie Macintosh followed suit, adding 13 kills and 11 digs, while Katie Bauer recorded eight kills on just 17 attacks, hitting .412 for the match. Rowan Tribelhorn contributed five kills and eight total blocks, including one solo block.
Isabella DeLaRosa also played a massive role directing the Adams State offense with 41 assists while also recording 17 digs, two service aces and a block assist. Sienna Markovich added five kills and 14 digs, while Ashlyn Jones led the defensive effort with 15 digs.
As a team, Adams State finished with 55 kills on 194 attacks while recording 84 digs and 19 total blocks in the match.
Match Two
In match two of the day, the Adams State Grizzly Volleyball team closed out their opening day of the season Friday afternoon, falling to Oklahoma Baptist 3-1 by scores of 25-19, 25-15, 18-25 and 25-11.
During match two, Oklahoma Baptist controlled the opening two sets, taking a 2-0 lead winning the first two sets by a total score of 50-34. Following the first two sets, the Grizzlies came out aggressively in the third set, recording 12 kills while only committing two errors. Adams State hit .233 as a team in the frame and pulled away for an 18-25 victory to extend the match.
Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, Oklahoma Baptist answered in the fourth set, finishing with a .306 hitting percentage with 14 kills and only three errors to close out the match 25-11.
Individually for the Grizzlies, directing the Grizzly offense again was Isabella DeLaRosa who finished the night with 31 assists while also recording three kills and nine digs. Lizzie Macintosh led Adams State with 11 kills, while Isa Folau added 10 kills, two service aces and 10 digs. Rowan Tribelhorn finished with five kills, one solo block and one block assist.
Elsewhere for the Grizzlies, Aubrey Rothermich provided a spark off the bench, recording six kills on 20 attacks while adding a solo block. Defensively, Ashlyn Jones led Adams State with 17 digs, while Folau added 10 digs and Taylor Matthews contributed five.
Overall, the Grizzlies finished the match with 43 kills and 38 assists, while collecting 56 digs and seven total blocks.
Looking Forward
The Grizzlies will look to bounce back tomorrow as they continue play in Canyon, Texas, at the West Texas A&M Lady Buff Classic. The Grizzlies will again have a doubleheader as they gear up to face West Texas A&M, and Tuskegee University. Adams State will face off against West Texas first at 10 AM MST with their match against Tuskegee following later in the afternoon at 2:30 PM MST. Follow along tomorrow as the Grizzlies will look to take two wins tomorrow and return back to Alamosa with an even 2-2 record.
