There was a block in front of the Fort Lewis College volleyball team on senior night.
The Skyhawks couldn’t find a way around CSU-Pueblo, as the ThunderWolves swept them 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-22) on Saturday in Whalen Gymnasium.
“One they’re big,” FLC head coach Kelley Rifilato said. “They also seemed to time blocks well so they were always coming down off their hands, so it was difficult to play coverage.”
CSU-Pueblo made seven of its 11 blocks in the third set to help clinch the victory.
Oni Latten led the ThunderWolves with six blocks on the evening, three solo. She also had four kills.
“It’s hard because you have to try to see where she’s going, and when she’s so fast, she’s always there,” FLC senior setter Ciara Krening said. “Heather (Danny) and I talked ‘move the ball, move the ball. She has to move.’ She has to be guessing all the time.”
Morgan Wilkening led the ThunderWolves with 13 kills, while Mariangel Perez added 12.
Ashley Wells led the FLC attack with 12 kills and added 12 digs, but the Skyhawks struggled with hitting errors.
They made 13 unforced errors to go along with CSU-Pueblo’s 11 blocks.
CSU-Pueblo ended the match with a block in the third set, which it won 25-22.
“I felt down at the very end we were timid, and we tipped a lot of balls based on being blocked at the beginning of the game,” Rifilato said.
FLC jumped out to an 8-5 lead early in the set, forcing the ThunderWolves to take their first timeout of the match.
But the ThunderWolves tied the set at 13 and took a 15-14 lead.
FLC libero Ally Dell’Amico took some time to get off the floor after diving for a ball late in the third set. She was examined by trainers, then returned to play, finishing with a match-high 25 digs.
The ThunderWolves took control of the second set late.
They forced FLC to take timeouts at 16-14 and 18-15 before winning the set 25-18.
There were 12 tie scores and six lead changes in the set.
“I think it’s just the discipline of being where we need to be,” Krening said of the Skyhawks’ late-set struggles. “We have the skill, it’s just the discipline, now.”
CSU-Pueblo hit significantly better in the second set at .208.
The ThunderWolves had 17 kills in the set compared to eight in the first.
CSU-Pueblo scored the final five points of the first set to take a 25-20 win.
Shelby Lehman pulled the Skyhawks within one with a solo block and stared down CSU-Pueblo’s Latten afterward.
The ThunderWolves had three team blocks and four fewer serving errors than FLC.
FLC outhit CSU-Pueblo .083-.079 in the set but made 10 hitting errors.
The Skyhawks decided to host their traditional senior-night festivities on their final weekend home game instead of their final home game because of the larger weekend crowd.
The five FLC seniors are: Heather Danny, Ciara Krening, Tehya Smith, Stephani Sonka and Wells.
“It’s not the end for us,” Wells said.
FLC next will play at 7 p.m. Friday at Western New Mexico in Silver City, N.M.
The team’s final home game is against Colorado Mesa on Nov. 6 at Whalen Gym.
“We’ll have two senior nights, it’s okay,” Wells said.
kgrabowski@ durangoherald.com
