The Fort Lewis College volleyball team picked up a key road win Saturday night in Las Vegas, New Mexico, as the Skyhawks topped New Mexico Highlands in four sets, 25-22, 25-20, 23-25 and 25-20.
The Skyhawks (6-11, 2-6 RMAC) were led by Bailey Longacre with 13 kills and seven block assists, while Ohiyah Shirley added 12. Payton Harmann recorded a double-double as she dished out 34 assists and added 11 digs, and Kamryn Lopez recorded a team-high 23 digs in the win.
“We just needed one,” said FLC head coach Tricia Melfy. “When you’re putting that many girls out on the floor and are trying to build chemistry, losing doesn’t help that. I think this will help us build that confidence going forward. They did a nice job, played decent most of the day. I thought (Longacre) and (Shirley) were good for us tonight, and (Lopez) stepped up big time. We had five kids in double-digit digs. We needed this.”
Highlands (1-16, 1-8 RMAC) was led by Taley Ferrari with 13 kills, while Bryanna Lopez added 36 digs.
FLC will host Adams State at 7 p.m. Tuesday inside Whalen Gymnasium.
Cross-countryThe Fort Lewis College cross-country men’s and women’s cross-country teams were unable to get the most out of its runners at the Lewis University Crossover Classic Saturday in suburban Chicago, as the men finished in 26th, while the women were 33rd.
Grand Valley State won the race with 88 points, Missouri Southern was second with 116 and Augustana of South Dakota was third with 134. The Skyhawks were 26th with 701 points.
Henry Barth paced FLC and was the highest finisher in the men’s eight-kilometer race, as he crossed the finish line in 26 minutes, 44.1 seconds for 90th overall. Elvis Chelak was second for Fort Lewis in 27:06 which was 135th, while Cody Speece was third for FLC in 27:39 for 195th.
On the women’s side, Krista Benze led FLC, as she finished the six-kilometer race in 25:53. Rose Chemeli and Karla de la Cruz finished back-to-back in 255th for Chemeli (25:54) and 256th for de la Cruz (25:57).
The Skyhawks will look to recover before the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships on Oct. 26 in Grand Junction.
bploen@durangoherald.com
