The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener was Fort Lewis College volleyball’s most competitive match to date.

But it still wasn’t enough for that elusive first victory.

FLC pushed CSU-Pueblo to the limit, but the ThunderWolves prevailed 3-2 (24-26, 25-12, 25-16, 23-25, 15-5) on Friday in Pueblo.

After the Skyhawks (0-9, 0-1 RMAC) rallied to bring the match even with a tight victory in the fourth game, CSU-Pueblo came out firing in the fifth, going up 10-3 and eventually tallying the last five points of the match.

FLC was led by Ashley Wells with 12 kills and 17 digs, while Heather Danny had 32 assists. The Skyhawks, however, committed 29 errors and had more errors than kills in two of the three games they lost. In the games they won, the Skyhawks had attack percentages of .222 and .342.

Brianna Bryant led CSU-Pueblo (4-6, 1-0 RMAC) with 17 kills, while Alex Sansavera had 28 digs for the ThunderWolves. Kacy Griffin had 53 assists.

FLC will try to get in the win column at 6 p.m. Saturday at N.M. Highlands in Las Vegas, N.M.

heraldsports@durangoherald.com