SAN ANGELO, Texas (Aug. 26, 2022) – The Colorado State University Pueblo volleyball team kicked off its 2022 season in explosive fashion, dominating Texas A&M – Kingsville 3-0 and then overcoming a 1-0 deficit and downing the host, No. 13 Angelo State, 3-1. The ThunderWolves statement win over Angelo State is the highest-ranking non-conference opponent the Pack have defeated since the 1997 season.
 
Match 1 | CSU Pueblo 3 – Texas A&M – Kingsville 0
 
The ThunderWolves kicked off the season and the day on the right foot. The Pack took the opening match 25-20, 25-20, 25-19 and never trailed by more than three points at any mark in the match. 
 
Set 1
 
First match jitters were quickly worked out for the Pack in the opening set, as the squad jumped to a 5-2 lead by making clean passes and forcing Javelinas errors, both setting and attacking.
 
The Pack were able to ward off a quick spurt by the Javelinas and continued to play clean volleyball. Hannah Delor was able to hammer home a kill followed by an ace to keep momentum in favor of the Pack early on in an 8-7 set. 
 
Soon following, Josey Nunn and Payton Van Veen assisted each other in making back-to-back blocks to begin a 5-1 run which was topped by two kills by Delor and another from Megan Mattingly. 
 
The Javelinas enjoyed a quick rally and nudged their way back into contention and tied up the set 20-20. The ThunderWolves did not panic and convincingly put the set away with kills from Van Veen and Delor capped by a set-clinching block by Delor and Nunn.
 
Set one ended with 11 kills by the Pack to the Javelinas' 10 and CSU Pueblo's four decisive blocks.
 
Set 2
 
The second set of the morning began differently than the first, with the Javelinas taking a 3-0 lead and then another 6-3 advantage soon following a quick burst by the Pack. 
 
The Pack woke up quickly with a Delor kill, a Grace Hern service ace and a combined block from Jazzy Espinoza and Delor to tie it up at 6-6 early on.
 
Neither team was able to gain a grip on the set until Nunn energized the squad with a kill off a Sabrina King assist. The Pack took seven of the next eight points off Van Veen and Delor kills that went with a Megan Mattingly ace.
 
The Pack were able to hold off any Kingsville threat for the remainder of the set and a block by Sadie Scoville and Nunn followed by a Scoville kill sealed the Pack's 25-20 set win.
 
CSU Pueblo's 2-0 advantage allowed the pepped up Pack team to enter the final set with confidence and an opportunity for the team's first sweep of the season.
 
Set 3
 
The Pack led off the final set with a commanding presence and never looked back. The ThunderWolves took a 9-5 lead after a kill from Kendall Harrington and soon followed up with back-to-back blocks from Delor, Nunn and Van Veen during a 3-0 run.
 
Blocks by the Pack kept the Javelinas at bay and the set in ThunderWolves control. Harrington and Espinoza each helped contribute an eventual 5-1 run that allowed the ThunderWolves to jump to a 20-14 lead. 
 
Kingsville attempted its own comeback and took four out of five points as a rebuttal, but the Pack defense was not intimidated nor deterred by the run. 
 
Scoville and Mattingly ended the run with a kill and ace, respectively and got within one point of taking the match sweep. Kingsville made one more attack error and the ThunderWolves clinched their first 3-0 sweep of the 2022 season.
 
The Pack racked up 10 blocks in the dominant win while only allowing one. The six aces also stifle the Javelinas defense. Delor accounted for three aces while Mattingly tallied two for herself. Delor also added 11 kills to the Pack tally. Nunn notched a team-high seven total blocks to go with five from freshman Van Veen. 
 
Coach's Remarks
 
Head coach Austin Albers said, "it was great to shake the butterflies out and get a first win not playing at our best level. I was impressed with our block and we were able to ride Hannah's hot hand for the first victory."
 
Albers is now 3-1 in season openers since his arrival in 2019. Albers has taken his past three season openers with a combined 9-2 set record.
 
Match 2 | CSU Pueblo 3 – No. 13 Angelo State 0
 
In the evening sequel, CSU Pueblo mounted a comeback after trailing 1-0. The Pack's 3-1 victory No. 13 Angelo State is the first non-conference ranked win since 1997.
 
Set 1
 
The Pack opened up the match even with the Belles but eventually fell behind 9-6 after a succession of kills on top of an ace and block. 
 
After the Pack trailed 12-8, the squad was able to pull back within one after forcing two Belle errors to go with an Elaine Thibadeau ace. The 12-11 score would not hold, however and the Belles once again jumped on the ThunderWolves with an 8-1 run.
 
Back-to-back kills by Harrington and Van Veen matched with a King ace gave the Pack much needed life, but it was not enough to turn the tides of set one.
 
The Belles took set one 25-19 over the Pack and put the ThunderWolves in a 1-0 deficit.
 
Set 2
 
A much different start to the second frame kickstarted a dominating three-set stand for the ThunderWolves and shifted the momentum in CSU Pueblo's favor.
 
Van Veen, King and Nunn rattled off three kills to begin the set. After leading 3-2, the Pack continued to strike, this time defensively. Van Veen started a 3-0 spurt with a kill and soon assisted Nunn with another block.
 
Consistent defense and clean passing kept the Belles from making any significant run. The Pack were able to gain their first five-point lead thanks to back-to-back kills from Scoville, and continued to pile on. 
 
Scoville once again kicked off another run soon following her consecutive kills with a another to go with her tally. A Mattingly ace and Delor kill added on for a 3-0 spurt to go in a 6-2 burst.
 
The Pack dagger came following a dangerous 3-0 Belles rush. Harrington and Espinoza assisted each other to combine for a block, kickstarting a 4-0 spurt that gave the ThunderWolves a 22-13 advantage. 
 
The Belles stormed back but it was too little for the Pack defense after Scoville and Nunn halted a significant run with yet another block. CSU Pueblo was able to tie the match up 1-1 following the 25-20 set win.
 
Set 3
 
The Pack held onto the momentum headed into a crucial third set. After some back-and-forth with the Belles early on in the frame, the Pack were able to put some distance between them and the 13th-ranked team in the nation. 
 
CSU Pueblo was able to pair points with one another and turn a 7-6 lead into a 13-9 advantage following a handful of kills by Delor and Scoville. Another Van Veen kill kickstarted a dominating 6-1 run and allowed the Pack to enjoy a cushy 19-10 lead.
 
The Belles gained a few more points, but offensive attacks by Espinoza to go with another Nunn/Harrington block sealed the most dominant set win of the night thus far, 25-14.
 
In set three, the Belles only had two instances with back-to-back points while the Pack had 10 runs of at least 2-0.
 
Set 4
 
All wind had been taken out of the ranked-home team's sail and had shifted into the favor of the Pack. CSU Pueblo gained control of the match with the 2-1 advantage over the Belles and never looked back.
 
After originally trailing 3-1, the ThunderWolves created another 4-0 run started by a Delor kill and capped by a Thibadeau ace. The real run had yet to come for the Pack.
 
After taking a 5-4 lead, a Delor slam off of King's assist catapulted a Pack barrage of points. During the eight-point flurry, Hern enjoyed an ace while Espinoza added to the cause with another kill. The massive run allowed the Pack to jump to a 13-4 advantage in the decisive set.
 
The Belles would not come within eight points of the Pack again, allowing the underdogs to coast to the finish.
 
One more four-point spurt allowed the Pack to clinch to an eventual 25-13 win to secure a 3-1 victory over the No. 13 Belles.
 
Delor once again led the offensive charge with nine kills while Espinoza added eight for her personal tally. Espinoza and Nunn each racked up six total blocks to contribute to the 24 logged.
 
Thibadeau tallied three aces to go with a team-high 13 digs while King highlighted setters with 16 assists. 
 
Coach's Remarks
 
"This was an exciting victory for our program against a very good team," said Albers. "I thought we settled in after set one and responded well in terms of fixing the areas we needed to on the fly. Our passers did a solid job but I thought our setters were the difference tonight by consistently making great decisions and putting our attackers in advantageous positions."
 
Albers concluded the night by stating, "Today was a great chance to see where we are at early in the season and now it is about being great again tomorrow."

The Pack look to ride the momentum with the conclusion of the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational with a 9 a.m. matchup vs. East Central followed by a matinee sequel at 1 p.m. vs. Southern Nazarene.