After a tough start to the season for a young Skyhawks volleyball team, things are beginning to look up.

Fort Lewis (5-14, 2-9 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) played its best match of the season Saturday. The Skyhawks cruised to a 3-0 sweep of Westminster College (5-14, 2-9 RMAC) to win their first match at home this season, 25-23, 25-18, 25-20.

Westminster is a new school to the RMAC this season.

As she has for most of the season, freshman Matisse Monty led the Fort Lewis attack with 13 kills.

“Matisse is a special kid, and she definitely pulls a lot of weight on this team,” said Skyhawks’ head coach Kelley Rifilato in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “For being a freshman, she’s a great leader and she’s not afraid to step into that leadership role.”

Of the eight players that started the game for Fort Lewis, five were freshmen.

Freshman outside hitter Gabriella Hickman had 12 digs and 10 kills. Redshirt freshman Bella Bernazzani had four blocks.

Junior Ally Dell’Amico led the team with 15 digs and added six assists while fellow junior Delaney Scanlan had 32 assists, nine kills, eight digs and an ace to help the cause in a big way.

Coming off of a 3-0 loss (25-18, 25-11, 25-17) to Colorado Mesa on Friday, the Skyhawks fell behind early Saturday against Westminster. However, the progression of this young team was evident in their willingness to fight back and take the first set against the Griffins.

The 25-23 comeback set the tone and supplied the confidence a young team needs to get over the hump. After the first set rally, a 25-18 second set rattled the visitors, and the Skyhawks put them away in a 25-20 third set.

“We’ve struggled with consistency and confidence this year,” Rifilato said. “(Saturday night) we focused on quality serving and good passing and we really took Westminster out of their offense. We’re making strides every day.”

The Skyhawks will look to make it two in a row at 7 p.m. Friday at Black Hills State.

jfries@durangoherald.com