SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Colorado State University Pueblo volleyball team extended its win streak to three straight matches here Friday evening as the ThunderWolves posted a dominating three-set victory (25-21, 25-21, 25-9) over Black Hills State in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action at the Donald E. Young Sports & Fitness Center.
With the victory, the Pack improved to 4-7 overall on the season and moved to 3-0 in the RMAC, while Black Hills State falls to 4-7 overall and 0-3 in the league. The Pack will conclude the two-match road swing in the South Dakota with a 3 p.m. match on Saturday in Rapid City against South Dakota School of Mines.
The Pack offense recorded 40 kills and hit .276 in the match as five different players had at least four kills, led by sophomore opposite side hitter
Kendall Harrington (San Antonio, Texas/Tom C. Clark) with 10 kills and a .389 attack percentage. In addition to Harrington, sophomore outside hitter
Sadie Scoville (Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove) added eight kills, 11 digs, four aces and hit .375, while sophomore outside hitter
Taylor Cary (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Rock Canyon) had a career-high seven kills.
Redshirt sophomore
Golden Finch (Albuquerque, N.M./Cal State Bakersfield) had another strong performance as she recorded six kills, had a season-high seven blocks, and hit .750. Over her last two matches, Finch has recorded 13 kills and is hitting .867 as she hit a school record 1.000 on seven kills on seven attacks in Tuesday's home win over Adams State and then hit .750 with six kills in Friday's match.
Freshman libero
Maddox Richtmyre (Surprise, Ariz./Willow Canyon) paced the Pack defense with a match-high 15 digs, while Scoville had 11. Senior setter
Grace Jansen (Sandy, Utah/Alta) and junior setter
Sabrina King (Parker, Colo./Lutheran) each had 14 assists and eight digs in the win.
The Pack outblocked BHSU by a count of 7 to 4 and held them to an .069 attack percentage.
BHSU was paced by eight kills from Audrey Brgoch, while Abigail Renner tallied six kills and a team-high 13 digs. Haedyn Rhoades added nine digs and Hannah Lamon tallied 20 assists in the loss.
Set 1: BHSU jumped out to an early 9-3 lead in the opening set, but the Pack responded with an 8-2 run capped by an ace by King and a kill by Harrington to tie the set at 11-all. After a kill by Alyson Louderback gave BHSU a 12-11 lead, the Pack would answer with a 6-0 lead to push in front 17-12. Scoville had three of her five kills in the during the run. The Pack's lead eventually grew to 19-14, before the 'Jackets used a 7-4 run to pull within 23-21. But back-to-back errors by the 'Jackets helped seal the Pack's 25-21 set win. In the set, the Pack hit .188 with 11 kills and five blocks, including four by Finch, while BHSU hit .098 with 11 kills.
Set 2: The second set featured seven ties and four lead changes as Harrington had five kills and hit .375 in the set to pace the Pack. Much like the first set, BHSU jumped out to an early 9-6 lead and led 10-7 when the Pack used a 7-1 run keyed by two kills each by Harrington and junior middle blocker
Josey Nunn (Kingwood, Texas/Porter) to take a 14-11 lead. The 'Jackets, though, answered right back as they used a 6-2 run to take a 17-16 lead. The lead was shortlived as the Pack used a 7-1 run capped by back-to-back kills from Finch and Cary to push out to a 23-18 advantage. BHSU would respond with a 3-1 run to pull within 24-21, but a kill by Nunn capped the 25-21 set win for the Pack. In the set ,the Pack hit .243 with 15 kills, while BHSU hit .188 with 10 kills.
Set 3: The third and final set belonged to the Pack as they hit .414 and recorded 14 kills and had five aces, including four from Scoville to earn a 25-9 win. The Pack never trailed in the set as they led 10-1 and would eventually lead 18-6 in the set. After BHSU pulled within 18-9, the Pack would score the final seven points of the set. In the set, junior opposite hitter
Brooklyn Casey (Peoria, Ariz./Scottsdale CC) had four kills and hit .444, while Cary and Finch each had three kills. Finch hit 1.000 in the set with three kills in three attack attempts. The 'Jackets were held to an -.103 attack percentage with just three kills on 29 swings.
Up Next: The Pack continues its road swing in the South Dakota with a 3 p.m. match on Saturday in Rapid City against South Dakota Mines (7-4, 1-2), who earned a three-set home sweep Friday over Adams State.
