DENVER (Nov. 17, 2021) – It was a game that kept everybody on the edge of their seats as the Colorado State University Pueblo volleyball team took down No. 25 Regis in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament in five sets.
 
The ThunderWolves (20-7, 13-5 RMAC) registered their first point of the match after a Hannah Delor (Jr., Marysville, Mich.) kill tied the game at 1. The kill sparked a 4-1 run to start the game before the Rangers (20-7, 15-3 RMAC) later used a 7-1 run of their own to take the lead at 21-18. A Josey Nunn (Fr., Kingwood, Tex.) kill followed by a Delor and Nunn block tied the set at 22, however, the Rangers pulled out a 25-22 win in the first set.
 
The Pack scored the first four points of the second set and were able to extend that lead to as much as 19-11 after Jazzy Espinoza (Jr., Cheyenne, Wyo.) and Delor registered the teams fourth block of the set. Huge defensive efforts throughout the match kept the Rangers from making any kind of run as the Pack tied the match with a 25-22 win.
 
Set three was filled with more action as the teams battled thought the first five points before Megan Mattingly (Fr., Phoenix, Ariz.) stepped in and sparked a 6-0 run for the Pack at 8-3. The Rangers stayed within striking distance and were able to the lead at 12-11. The Pack took the lead and were able to extend their lead to as much as 21-16, but a 5-0 run for Regis forced a Pack timeout. The ThunderWolves capitalized coming out of the timeout with a kill from Maddy Wisniewski (Sr., Highlands Ranch, Colo.) followed by a kill from Payton Stack (Sr., Casper, Wyo.) and an ace from Grace Hern (Jr., Omaha, Neb.) that gave the ThunderWolves an eventual 25-22 lead.
 
The fourth set belonged strictly to the Rangers as the ThunderWolves were held to their lowest scoring set of the season after trailing by as many as 15 points. Coach Austin Albers tried everything to get the Pack to gain any kind of momentum as he knew the match was going to a decisive fifth set. The Rangers took set four with ease and tied the match at two sets apiece with a 25-12 win.
 
The right-side came alive for the ThunderWolves in the fifth and final set, first with a block from Stack and Espinoza to open the set. The big presence at the net forced the Rangers to send three straight balls sailing out of bounds that gave the Pack a 6-3 advantage. The Rangers had no answer for Stack or Wisniewski on the right-side as Stack registered the teams next three points. The Pack held the Rangers to a .034 hitting percentage in the fifth set while hitting .333 of their own to walk away with a 15-9 win.
 
Wisniewski led the team with a season-high 14 kills, 2 blocks and 3 digs while Stack added 13 kills, 3 digs and 3 blocks. The heart and soul of the defense started with Elaine Thibadeau (Jr., Monument, Colo.) who recorded back-to-back 20+ digs with 26 on the match, which included 5 alone in the fifth set while Espinoza tallied 8 blocks and 7 kills. Hern finished with 19 assists while Grace Jansen (So., South Jordan, Utah) recorded a double-double with 15 assists and a season-high 11 digs.
 
The ThunderWolves move on to face No.1 MSU Denver in the semifinal match of the RMAC tournament on Friday night at 7:30 pm at the Auraria Event Center in Denver.