The Fort Lewis College volleyball team won its fifth consecutive match after they defeated Colorado State University-Pueblo in four sets in Pueblo Friday night. The scores were 25-23, 17-25, 25-20 and 25-23.
The Skyhawks (9-11, 9-7 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) were led by junior middle blocker Bailey Longacre, who finished the night with 14 kills and had a hitting percentage of .289 while senior outside hitter Haley Christiansen and junior outside hitter Ohiyah Shirley had 12 apiece. Both Shirley and Christiansen recorded double-doubles as Shirley had 16 digs and Christiansen had 19 digs.
In the first set, the teams traded leads numerous times, and the most either side led by was three points, when FLC led 24-21. The Skyhawks got the set-winning kill from Longacre. The ThunderWolves (5-20, 3-12 RMAC) responded in the second set as they got off to a 9-4 lead and eventually extended it to 19-11 before taking the set.
In the final game of the evening, FLC got off to an 8-5 lead after the ThunderWolves committed three consecutive attack errors. The three-point cushion would be crucial for the Skyhawks after the ThunderWolves would tie the set at 18, which prompted Skyhawks’ head coach Tricia Melfy to call a timeout. The Skyhawks won the next three points to make it 21-18.
“Winning on the road has been a little bit difficult, but we knew that this match was huge for us,” Melfy said.
Fort Lewis is one win from locking up a trip to the RMAC Tournament. A win tomorrow night against New Mexico Highlands would seal a spot, or a loss from Adams State, who plays the ThunderWolves. It would be the first time the program qualified for the conference tournament since the 2013 season.
Melfy and her team are well aware of the significance of tomorrow’s match. She says they’re ready for the challenge.
“We’re just so excited and we’re so focused,” Melfy said. “At this point, we don’t care that we’re on the road. We know Highlands is a great team and they’ll try to play spoilers. But tomorrow night, we know that we’ve got to play Fort Lewis volleyball and keep rolling the way we’ve been rolling. Personally, I know our girls are physically ready, and now I feel they’re emotionally ready as well. It’s in our hands and we just have to play our game.”
The Skyhawks will look for their sixth consecutive win when they take on New Mexico Highlands (7-17, 5-11 RMAC) at 6 p.m. Saturday in Las Vegas.
bploen@durangoherald.com
