LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The Colorado State University Pueblo women's volleyball team opened Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play here Friday evening with a three-set sweep (25-21, 25-23, 25-19) over New Mexico Highlands University at the John A. Wilson Complex.
 
With the victory, the ThunderWolves improved to 2-7 overall and 1-0 in the RMAC, while Highlands fell to 1-9 overall and 0-1 in the league. The Pack have now started 1-0 in the league play the past three seasons. Both Pack wins this season have come in straight sets.
 
"Tonight's win was a great reflection of what we focused on in practice this week and I'm proud of our ladies for being able to stay poised on the road. We did a good job from the serve line and limited our attacking errors on our side of the net," CSU Pueblo women's volleyball head coach Austin Albers said. "We received some great play off the bench from Taylor (Cary) and Golden (Finch). Those two both got plugged into the lineup in set two and changed the complexion of the match for us in moments when we needed an energy switch. I'm very proud of both and how they handled the moment."
 
In Friday's match, the Pack offense hit .305 with 40 kills and recorded seven aces in the win. The Pack offense was paced by the play of sophomore outside hitter Sadie Scoville (Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove) and redshirt sophomore outside hitter Payton Van Veen (Springfield, Mo./Washburn) as each recorded 11 kills and hit a combined .353 as Scoville hit .417 and added 19 digs and three aces, while Van Veen hit .296 and had four aces.
 
Along with Scoville and Van Veen, sophomore opposite hitter Kendall Harrington (San Antonio, Texas/Tom C. Clark) added 10 kills and hit .381 in the win.
 
Freshman libero Maddox Richymyre (Surprise, Ariz./Willow Canyon) paced the Pack defense with 16 digs.
 
Junior setter Sabrina King (Parker, Colo./Lutheran) had 19 assists and redshirt junior setter Grace Jansen (South Jordan, Utah/Jordan) had 15 assists and six digs.
 
Angelina Burton paced the Cowgirls with 13 kills, while Aziza Morris added nine kills and hit .538 for the match.
 
Highlands had 42 kills and six aces in the match, but were outblocked, 4-3 and outhit, .305 to .235.

"We certainly have some things we can improve on before our next match on Tuesday and we're grateful to get a rest day tomorrow to be able to get ourselves closer to 100 percent healthy," added Albers. "After watching our focus in practice this last week I'm excited to see how we respond to our next challenges in practice as we prep for three big matches next week."
 
Set 1: Highlands jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening set and led 5-3 when the Pack used a 9-2 run capped by an ace from Van Veen to take a 12-7 lead. The lead grew to 17-10 when the Cowgirls used a 9-2 run capped by a Burton ace to pull within 20-19. CSU Pueblo would respond by scoring two straight points to push in front 22-19, but Highlands would come back with two points of their own to pull within 22-21. The Pack would close out the set by scoring four straight points to cap the 25-21 win. The win was capped by a Scoville kill. In the set, the Pack hit .300 with 10 kills, while Highlands hit .171 with 15 kills.
 
Set 2: The second set was the most competitive of the match as it featured 15 ties and four lead changes. The Pack jumped out to a 5-3 lead early in the set, but Highlands responded with a 6-3 run capped by kill from Jaylee Gonzales to take a 9-8 lead. From that point the two teams took turns holding the lead until the Pack used a 3-0 run to turn a 17-all tie into a 20-17 advantage. The run was capped by back-to-back kills from Scoville and began with a kill from junior middle blocker Josey Nunn (Kingwood, Texas/Porter). Once again, Highlands responded with a 6-3 run to tie the set at 23. Back-to-back kills from Van Veen and Harrington helped the Pack earn a 25-23 set win and take a 2-0 lead in the match. In the set, CSU Pueblo hit .298 with 18 kills, while Highlands hit .279 with 14 kills.
 
Set 3: The Pack opened the third set by scoring the first three points and led 9-3 when the Cowgirls answered with an 8-2 run to tie the set at 11-all. Highlands, though, would score four of the next six points to take a 15-13 lead, but the Pack responded with a 7-0 run keyed by three aces from Scoville to push in front 20-15. Highlands had one push left in them as they scored two of the next three points to pull within 21-17, the Pack would score four of the sets final six points to seal its 25-19 win to earn the sweep. In the set, the Pack hit .286 with 11 kills, while Highlands hit .181 with 13 kills.
 
Up Next: The Pack will return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 19 as they open their home schedule with a 7 p.m. RMAC match against Adams State in Massari Arena. The match is the first of seven home matches this season for the Pack.