Fort Lewis volleyball blew a 2-0 set lead against CSU Pueblo last Saturday and lost 3-2. It was a critical blow to the Skyhawks’ chances to get into the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament. FLC needed a win Friday night against Colorado School of Mines with its back against the wall. With only two home games left in her Skyhawks volleyball career, senior outside hitter Alexis Hobie stepped up.
Hobie had a season-high 18 kills as the Skyhawks beat the Orediggers 3-1 at home. Hobie showed off her height at 6-foot-2-inches, power and athleticism with various kills. She was good at blocking at the net, hitting from the outside or from the center with a powerful spike.
The Skyhawks improved to 10-15 overall and 6-7 in the RMAC with the 16-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-18 win. Colorado School of Mines fell to 9-16 overall and 5-8 in the RMAC.
“We knew that we all had to fight for every single point,” FLC head coach Giedre Tarnauskaite said. “Our backs are against the wall. We have to get a win. There's freedom in playing when you know there's nothing really you have to lose. You just go and play volleyball and go hard because the odds are against you. We're playing some ranked opponents and really good teams that have a history of going to the NCAAs. We're the underdog and we are really good at being underdog.”
Fifth-year right side Lauren Shea had 11 kills for FLC and sophomore outside hitter Jordan DeJesus had 10 kills. Senior setter Natalia Lambos had 44 assists.
Tarnauskaite complimented her back line of defensive specialists in freshman Maddy Shumway, freshman Emery Pomroy and junior Chloe Ruhl for their ball control.
Colorado School of Mines was led by Hannah Kinnison with 12 kills.
In the first set, the Skyhawks also had a few serving errors early which put them in a 7-4 deficit.
FLC struggled in the middle of the first set to get kills. Instead, the Skyhawks benefited from Colorado School of Mines’ hitting errors.
“We just needed to be prepared to fight,” Tarnauskaite said. “We needed to be a little bit more aggressive offensively. Our offense wasn’t quite there.”
The Skyhawks struggled with some simple returns and dug themselves a 19-13 deficit which led to a Tarnauskaite timeout. Hitting errors and struggles returning continued as the Orediggers won the first set 25-16.
Colorado School of Mines took an early 5-2 lead in the second set thanks to some good blocking. FLC crept back into the set down 7-6 thanks to some hitting errors by Colorado School of Mines.
FLC started blocking at the net better and a Hobie block tied the set at nine before the Skyhawks took their first lead 10-9 thanks to a Shumway ace that barely trickled over the net. The run of scoring continued with a Shea kill on the right side that put FLC up 14-10, causing an Orediggers timeout.
Hobie continued to have a strong second set, finding space with numerous crosscourt kills to keep the Skyhawks ahead. Jordan DeJesus came on the court in the second set and provided a spark with four quick kills. FLC doesn’t have another player with her jumping ability and more times than not the opponents can’t react right away to her presence.
The Orediggers had a response with some good sets for kills and were helped by some Skyhawks hitting errors. Tarnauskaite called a timeout up 22-21. Hobie finished the second set with a crosscourt kill to secure a 25-23 win.
“That's what you expect from a senior who's an all-conference returner,” Tarnauskaite said about Hobie. “I'm really glad that it came for her. She's been working really hard in practices, so it's really nice to see it all come together. She really was versatile tonight. She had the shots, she had the tips; she used everything that she had. That's what we needed today.”
Hobie continued her strong play with two powerful kills and a block to put FLC up 3-1 in the third set. FLC showed its power and got off to a 9-5 lead. Lambos did a good job of setting up multiple players and playing a dump shot or two to keep the Orediggers on their toes.
FLC kept Colorado School of Mines at a distance throughout the middle of the third set. The Orediggers couldn’t get any good hits as the Skyhawks were constantly putting them under pressure with powerful kills and quality digs on any Oredigger hitting attempt. A spike by junior Ella Butler spike put FLC up 17-11.
Colorado School of Mines made a comeback thanks to some good play around the net and FLC wasn’t hitting as well. Tarnauskaite called a timeout up 19-18.
The teams battled back and forth to finish the third set with both squads showing off some impressive digs to keep the point alive. Butler and Shea blocked an Oredigger attempt at the net for a 26-24 third set win.
FLC kept the momentum going into the fourth set and got off to a 7-3 lead thanks to some good blocking at the net. The Skyhawks continued to stretch their advantage to 13-7 due to some poor hitting by Colorado School of Mines.
Hobie continued her impressive form with a few stellar spikes at the net as FLC continued to cruise in the fourth set. She finished off the match with a kill at the net for a 25-18 set win.
FLC plays MSU Denver at home on Saturday at 2 p.m. for senior day to close the regular season. Tarnauskaite thinks FLC matches up well with MSU Denver despite the Roadrunners’ No. 5 ranking in Division II and undefeated RMAC record at 13-0.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
