PUEBLO, Colo. (October 16, 2021) – The Colorado State University Pueblo volleyball team took care of business at home, capping off the weekend with a 3-1 (25-13, 30-28, 26-24, 25-20) win over Western Colorado (9-9, 4-6 RMAC) on Saturday afternoon at Massari Arena.
 
The ThunderWolves (14-4, 8-2 RMAC) jumped out to an early lead behind a Payton Stack (Sr., Casper, Wyo.) kill followed by two serving aces from Hannah Delor (Jr., Marysville, Mich.) to give the Pack a 3-0 lead right off the bat. The ThunderWolves, for the second straight game, held their opponents to a .000 hitting percentage in a set, went on to take set one 25-13.
 
The momentum carried into the second set for the ThunderWolves who took an early 13-7. The stingy Pack defense continued to stay strong in the back row before a kill from Kasey Jahnke (So., Glendale, Ariz.) and a block by Maddy Wisniewski (Sr., Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and Jazzy Espinoza (Jr., Cheyenne, Wyo.) gave the home team a 17-10 advantage midway through the second set.
 
A 4-0 run followed by three Mountaineer kills with an ace mixed into another 5-0 run for Western Colorado forced Head Coach Austin Albers to call his first timeout of the match. The Mountaineers took their first lead of the set at 21-20. Both teams not giving an inch of breathing space saw the set go passed the 25-point target. Wisniewski tallied three kills for the Pack followed by a final kill from Jahnke that finally gave the ThunderWolves a 30-28 edge.
 
It looked as if all the life was sucked out of the Mountaineers as Stack started the third set with two straight kills followed by another Delor ace gave the Pack an early 6-1, however, were not able to sustain the lead as the offense for the Mountaineers came alive. The third set saw ten tied and five lead changes with the Pack taking a late 24-22 advantage but four straight points for the Mountaineers gave them a 26-24 win in set three.
 
Just like the last set, neither team budged an inch, seeing the game tied at 17 apiece. With tensions rising in the set, setter Grace Hern (Jr., Omaha, Neb.) managed her third dump of match that sparked a 6-0 run for the Pack, to give the home team a 22-17 edge. The Pack would hold on for a 25-20 win in the fourth set, to walk away with a 3-1 victory.
 
Stack registered a career-high 17 kills to lead the ThunderWolves while teammates Wisniewski (11) and Jahnke (10) also recorded double digit kills. Hannah Delor also had herself a career night, registering a career-best five service aces, also recorded six kills and nine digs. Grace Jansen (So., South Jordan, Utah) led the team with 24 assists while Hern tallied 21 assists and three kills. Freshman Josey Nunn (Fr., Kingwood, Tex.) led the team with five blocks followed by Espinoza with four and Wisniewski with two while teammate Elaine Thibadeau (Jr., Monument, Colo.) recorded a team-high 15 digs.
 
The Pack will be back in action next weekend for homecoming weekend as the team hosts Westminster on Friday night followed by Colorado Mesa on Saturday. Both games will begin at 7 pm inside Massari Arena.