PUEBLO, Colo (Sept. 14, 2021) – The (RV) Colorado State University Pueblo volleyball team clinched its fifth sweep of the season over UC-Colorado Springs in its Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) season opener. The ThunderWolves took the sets 25-20, 25-19, and 27-25.
Set 1
The first set kicked off in an even back-and-forth rapport between the two foes. The Pack were able to gain momentum midway through the first frame and take a 10-8 lead with the help off a Payton Stack kill to start a 3-0 run.
The Mountain Lions refused to let the ThunderWolves gain too much momentum and shifted the set in their favor, 15-11.
Jazzy Espinoza, Hannah Delor, and Maddy Wisniewski responded with three kills in succession to energize the rowdy student section and even if back up at 15. A few points later, the Pack took their first commanding lead of the night after a punishing kill from Milica Djukic and forcing three consecutive UCCS errors.
The Pack kept a five-point cushion through the remainder of the opening set as Espinoza iced the frame with a kill of her own.
Set 2
Entering the second set with a 1-0 advantage, the Pack continued to carry momentum from the rambunctious crowd. The ThudnerWolves put together an early 4-0 run to gain a 7-4 lead off two more Delor kills.
After UCCS drew within two, the two teams traded the next eight points until the Mountain Lions eventually clawed their way back to only a one-point deficit.
The Pack were able to distance themselves and pad the set-lead back to four. The ThunderWolves closed out the set on a 7-1 run and clinched the frame off back-to-back kills from Wisniewski and Delor, respectively. CSU Pueblo took the second set 25-19 and headed into the third set with a commanding 2-0 advantage.
Set 3
The third set started off in favor of the Pack early on. After taking a 4-3 slight advantage, Espinoza and Delor delivered consecutive kills and were followed by a Megan Mattingly service ace to extend the lead to 7-3.
Following soon after, the Pack pounced on the Mountain Lions with another 4-0 run. Espinoza delivered a kill and followed it up immediately with an ace of her own to kickstart the run that would give the ThunderWolves an 11-5 advantage.
UCCS strung together two small runs to dig into the deficit a tad, but then the Pack blew the set wide open once more. Stack attacked with three kills on top of two Delor aces to expand the lead to 19-11 following a 6-0 spurt.
Wisniewski logged another kill to push the score to 24-17 and put the Pack just one point from putting the match away.
UCCS had other ideas. Facing seven match points, the Mountain Lions rallied and tied the set up at 24 apiece and force the ThunderWolves to take a timeout.
After having it tied up at 25, the Pack defense stayed strong and buckled down again on the Mountain Lions. Djukic recorded a solo block to bring the Pack to a 26-25 lead. The defense forced an attack error by UCCS and clinched the three-set sweep, 25-20, 25-19, 27-25.
The Pack were led offensively by Delor who recorded 13 of the 45 team kills. Stack finished with nine kills while Espinoza logged eight. Wisniewski tallied five kills in her first match appearance of the season.
Grace Jansen led the way with 25 assists while Grace Hern helped with the load, tallying 18 for herself.
Djukic was able to own the net throughout the night, tallying five total blocks with one solo. Elaine Thibadeau tallied a team-high 16 digs.
The Pack had six service aces, 45 kills, three solo blocks, 10 block assists, and hit .266 on the evening.
The 7-2 (RV) CSU Pueblo team hits the road for their next battle as they head to Black Hills State University to take on the Yellow Jackets in their second RMAC contest of the young season.
 -PACK-
