More like “Hammer” Starbuck.
Fort Lewis College senior Hannah Starbuck annihilated a ball for the final kill of the Skyhawks’ 3-2 (24-26, 25-21, 26-24, 18-25, 15-7) win over New Mexico Highlands on Friday in Whalen Gymnasium.
“It’s our last weekend at home, and I had a bunch of support around me, so might as well go big or go home,” she said.
The Skyhawks now have won three of their last four matches and clinched the eighth and final spot in the RMAC Tournament by virtue of losses from CSU-Pueblo and UC-Colorado Springs on Friday night.
Starbuck finished with 14 kills and two crowd-pleasing spikes that had FLC football players in the stands holding each other back like someone broke a backboard.
Most of FLC’s hitters were that dialed in during the decisive fifth game; FLC (9-17, 9-9 RMAC) hit .600 in the final frame with six kills and zero errors.
FLC trailed Highlands 1-0 after losing the first game 26-24 but battled back to win the second and third games and put the Cowgirls on their boot heels.
“I don’t think any of the girls ever think one set down is too many,” FLC head coach Kelly Rifilato said. “We battle back no matter how far we’re down.”
The Skyhawks overcame a deficit in their first match against Highlands for their first win of the season, as well.
Solid blocking changed the complexion of the match as it progressed.
FLC outblocked Highlands 2-1 in the first game, but that advantage grew to 9-4 by the end of the fifth frame.
“They became a little predicatble with their shots,” Starbuck said. “They hit the same thing every time.”
Ashley Wells led FLC with 18 kills, while Stephani Sonka joined her and Starbuck in double-digits with 16.
FLC still has one regular season match remaining at 7 p.m. Saturday in Whalen Gym against Pueblo where the program will send off three seniors.
“To end the season with a bang, especially since we’re home, it’s so much better,” Wells said. “It’ll give us a better start and lead into the tournament then.”
A victory over Pueblo would give FLC a winning RMAC record.
“That’s huge for us, especially with the way we started the preseason,” Rifilato said. “Really huge turnaround for us.”
The Skyhawks started the season 0-9.
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
