PUEBLO, Colo. - CSU Pueblo volleyball handled business inside a loud Massari Arena on Tuesday night, taking down Westminster 3–1 (25-17, 25-16, 22-25, 25-13) to punch their ticket to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals. The victory also marked a major program milestone, as the ThunderWolves reached 20 wins for the first time since 2021.
The ThunderWolves came out firing in the opening two sets, dictating tempo with aggressive serving and a balanced offensive rhythm. CSU Pueblo stacked up 13 kills in each of the first two frames, hitting .194 and .324 while controlling long rallies and keeping Westminster off-balance. The Pack's early surge featured a six-point run fueled by back-to-back aces from Elena Stankovic, helping them seize full control of the first set.
Westminster responded in the third, capitalizing on a few extended runs to edge the Pack 25–22 despite another 15 kills from CSU Pueblo. But the fourth set belonged completely to the ThunderWolves. CSU Pueblo delivered its most efficient frame of the night, hitting .333 while smothering the Griffins defensively and closing the match on a dominant 10–3 finishing push.
Across the board, the Pack's attack operated with confidence and structure. Finja Schul delivered a career performance, hammering 14 kills on .522 hitting—the highest kill total of her Pack career. Caelyn Gunn and Taylor Cary each added 15 kills to keep pressure on the Westminster block, while Golden Finch chipped in eight kills and five total blocks to help CSU Pueblo out-block the Griffins 9–4 on the night.
At the controls, Stankovic engineered 48 assists, added four aces, and dug 15 balls to guide the Pack in both tempo and defensive transition. Libero Megan Mattingly anchored the back row with a match-high 27 digs, keeping rallies alive and fueling transition scoring.
CSU Pueblo finished with 56 kills on .255 hitting, 78 digs, and seven service aces while holding the Griffins to .124 offensively.
With the win, the ThunderWolves advance to Friday's RMAC semifinal, where they'll face UCCS for a third time this season. The two rivals split their regular-season meetings, each winning once. Friday's neutral-site showdown will take place in Denver on the campus of MSU Denver, with a berth in the RMAC Championship match on the line.
