The most successful Fort Lewis College women’s volleyball season in 15 years finished with a loss on Tuesday night.
FLC made its first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament since 2022 as the No. 7 seed. The Skyhawks lost to the No. 2 seed University of Colorado Colorado Springs, 3-1 (21-25, 12-25, 25-18, 18-25) in the tournament quarterfinals.
It was FLC’s third loss to UCCS this season. The Skyhawks had great moments throughout the match with some great defense by freshman defensive specialist Alyx Daugherty and great at the net by freshman Caroline Munson, but UCCS played a cleaner match. The Mountain Lions used their length and size to power kills past the Skyhawks.
FLC finished the 2025 season 14-12 overall and 8-6 in the RMAC. It was a somewhat disappointing end to the year for the Skyhawks after losing their final seven games, but they still ended the season with the most wins since 2010.
Munson led the way with 14 kills; junior outside hitter Jordan DeJesus and freshman outside hitter Cambria Freymuth each finished with 10 kills. Freshman setter Arianna Reyna led FLC with 22 assists, and Daugherty led FLC with 29 digs on defense.
UCCS improved to 25-2 overall and advanced to play CSU Pueblo in the conference tournament semifinals. Sydney Hyde led the Mountain Lions with 14 kills.
FLC got off to a poor start to Set 1 and trailed 5-0. UCCS was scoring from all over with an ace, kills down the middle and the line. The Skyhawks got their offense going and got back into the game. Munson had a few strong swings; FLC did a much better job of digging and blocking. A kill by Freymuth cut UCCS’ lead to 14-10.
The Skyhawks didn’t have enough left in the tank in the first set. FLC prolonged a lot of points with Daugherty’s digs, but UCCS’ power from its outside hitters was too much for the Skyhawks. A Daugherty serve into the net gave UCCS a 25-21 Set 1 win.
Set 2 was a much better start for FLC with a 6-3 early lead. Freymuth had a great kill, junior outside hitter Alina Nunez and Munson both had great plays around the net as the Skyhawks didn’t allow the Mountain Lions to set up their hitters for easy kills early.
Just as FLC was feeling good, UCCS responded with an 8-0 run. The Mountain Lions were versatile with their scoring with tip shots, dumps and power kills. FLC couldn’t find the holes in UCCS’ defense and weren’t very versatile with their types of hits. An attack out of bounds gave UCCS a 25-12 Set 2 win.
UCCS had a solid start to Set 3, but Munson was strong in the middle for FLC with the absence of senior middle blocker Ella Butler. Back-to-back kills for Munson cut UCCS’ lead to 7-6. Freshman Arianna Reyna had back-to-back aces to tie the set at 10.
It was easy to see that FLC was playing for its season in the third set. The Skyhawks looked super locked in, cut down the mistakes, extended points into great rallies and forced UCCS into mistakes. Munson played great at the net with a few blocks, and a Freymuth poke at the net gave FLC an 18-14 lead.
UCCS made a lot of hitting errors late. A fantastic dig by Daugherty led to a Nunez kill down the right side for the 25-18 Set 3 win for FLC.
The Mountain Lions got out to a 6-3 lead in Set 4. FLC stayed within striking distance with some great play at the center of the net, but UCCS pulled away as it cleared up its mistakes from Set 3. UCCS kept a five or six-point lead for the second half of Set 4. The Skyhawks continued to give maximum effort as it seemed like there was an FLC player stretched across the floor after every point. However, UCCS had the exclamation point on a convincing match with a point at the net for a 25-18 Set 4 win.
FLC fans should be optimistic about the future. The Skyhawks should bring back a defensive stud in Daugherty, strong outside hitters in Nunez, DeJesus and Freymuth, two quality setters in Reyna and Garn and two great middle blockers in Ellie Ames and Munson.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
