SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - The Colorado State University Pueblo Volleyball Team dropped their third straight match on Saturday afternoon to the hands of Westminster College, as the Griffins swept the ThunderWolves three games to none.

With the loss, CSU Pueblo falls to 10-6 overall on the season and 4-2 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, while the Griffins improve to 8-7 overall and 4-2 in RMAC play.

The ThunderWolves had their chances. leading late in two of the three sets, but could not finish off the Griffins. The Pack led 23-20 in the second before falling 25-23, and led 20-15 in the third, before falling 26-24. 

Kendall Schmitz (Lee's Summit, Mo./Arkansas-Fort Smith) led the way for the Pack, as the first year ThunderWolf recorded 15 assists on the afternoon. 

Sadie Scoville (Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove) was a menace on the defensive end, leading the Pack with 15 digs. 

Three ThunderWolves were making a homecoming visit Utah, as Scoville, Hallie Hewlett (Bountiful, Utah/Bountiful), and Macy Wood (Sandy, Utah/Alta) all hail from the Greater Salt Lake City area. 

ABOUT THE MATCH

After making the long trip from Grand Junction, Colo. this morning, the ThunderWolves started out the gates slow to the Griffins. Westminster opened up the match 7-3 in set one, and that is all the Griffins needed as CSU Pueblo was never able to catch up. 

The ThunderWolves did cut the lead down to one at 18-17, but were never able to tie it up, as Westminster went on a 7-3 run to end set one, eventually winning 25-20. 

The Pack looked much more alive in the second set, and had the second in their sights, but could not close out the Griffins.

With the score 18-18 in the second, the Pack went on a mini 4-0 run with kills from Kaitlyn Hall (Colorado Springs, Colo./Falcon), Rayliene Joens (Elkhorn, Neb./Winona State), and Golden Finch (Albuquerque, N.M./Cal State Bakersfield) to give themselves a 22-18 lead. Westminster rallied with two straight points from Hailey Killett and an attack error from the Pack to make the score 22-20, but a kill from Joens made the score 23-20, with the second set in the ThunderWovles sights.

Three attack errors from the Pack and two kills from Westminster halted those ideas for the ThunderWolves, as Westminster stunned the Pack 25-23, going up two games to none.

With their backs agains the wall in the third set, the ThunderWolves showed fight, and had a chance to extend the match just like the night before, but a late set collapse halted those ideas.

The Pack looked sharp in the third set, taking an early 10-5 lead as Schmitz, Ceanna O'Loughlin (Beaverton, Ore./Jesuit), and Ally Lange (Carterville, Ill./Carterville) all brought inspiring energy to start the third. 

Westminster rallied behind the home crowd, but the ThunderWolves held their own, taking a 15-11 lead. 

The Pack went on a 5-3 scoring run after that to extend their lead to six at 20-14, with things looking good, but the Griffins had another haymaker in the bag.

The Griffins went on a 9-0 run to stun the ThunderWolves, taking a 23-20 lead. With what looked like the Griffins snatching the soul from the Pack, the ThunderWolves had one more rally in them, as the Pack were down 24-22, rallying with a kill from Scoville and a serving error from Westminster to tie the game at 24-24.

CSU Pueblo eventually ran out of gas, dropping the final two points of the set to fall 26-24.