SAN ANGELO, Texas – Colorado State University Pueblo volleyball dropped a three-set decision here Saturday afternoon to UT Permian Basin (14-25, 19-25, 15-25) inside the Junell Center/Stephens Arena.
The loss dropped the ThunderWolves to 1-2 on the young season, while UT Permian Basin remained unbeaten and improved to 3-0.
Sophomore outside hitter/right side hitter Brianna Pino led the Pack offensively with six kills, while senior middle blocker Finja Schul added five kills, three blocks and a service ace. Junior outside hitter Emma Luce and senior right side hitter Lilly Zwart each finished with four kills. Zwart also recorded two blocks in the match.
CSU Pueblo finished the match with 26 kills and hit .010 on 105 total attacks. The Pack also recorded five service aces, 31 digs and five team blocks. UT Permian Basin countered with 34 kills while hitting .244 and finished with 48 digs, 11 service aces and 12 team blocks.
Senior setter Elena Stankovic led the Pack with 15 assists and added six digs, while Madison Gardner came off the bench and contributed five assists. Senior libero Chinaru Pao paced the Pack defensively with a match-high 13 digs. Nicole Monge provided a spark from the service line as she recorded three of CSU Pueblo's five service aces.
UT Permian Basin was led offensively by Kaitlyn Salgado, who finished with a match-high 10 kills while hitting .286. Sydney Bradley added seven kills and five blocks, while Giselle Orellana tallied six kills and seven digs. Nickilah Whatley finished with four service aces and six blocks, while Kierra Freeman recorded 13 assists, 10 digs and four service aces.
Set 1: UT Permian Basin jumped out quickly in the opening set as the Falcons scored the first three points and eventually built a 6-1 advantage. The Pack answered and pulled within 6-3 following a UT Permian Basin attack error and a Pino kill. After the Falcons pushed their lead to 8-3, Zwart recorded a kill and Monge followed with back-to-back service aces to pull CSU Pueblo within 8-6. UT Permian Basin responded by scoring four of the next five points to extend its lead to 12-7. Kills from Luce and Stankovic kept the Pack within striking distance at 15-10 before the Falcons used a 4-0 run to take a 19-10 advantage. Pino stopped the run with consecutive kills, but UT Permian Basin eventually reached set point at 24-13. Pino fought off the first set point with another kill before Precious Johnson ended the set with a kill to give the Falcons a 25-14 win. CSU Pueblo hit .097 with 10 kills in the set, while UT Permian Basin hit .522 with 13 kills and just one attack error.
Set 2: CSU Pueblo responded in the second set by scoring three of the first four points behind kills from Natalie Mobley, Andi Nothdurft and Pao to take an early 3-1 lead. UT Permian Basin answered to move in front 5-3 before the Pack battled back and tied the set at 7 on a Luce service ace. With the score tied at 8, CSU Pueblo scored four straight points as two Falcon attack errors, a Schul service ace and a Zwart kill gave the Pack a 12-8 advantage. UT Permian Basin responded by scoring three consecutive points before Nothdurft stopped the run with a kill to give CSU Pueblo a 13-11 lead. The Falcons then took control with six unanswered points to turn the two-point deficit into a 17-13 advantage. The Pack continued to battle and used a Luce kill, a UT Permian Basin attack error and an assisted block from Mobley and Schul to pull within 18-17. The Falcons answered with five straight points to extend their lead to 23-17. CSU Pueblo scored the next two points, including a Monge service ace, to pull within 23-19, but UT Permian Basin closed the set with the final two points to earn a 25-19 victory and take a 2-0 lead in the match. The Pack finished the set with eight kills and hit .026, while the Falcons recorded 12 kills and hit .161.
Set 3: UT Permian Basin once again started quickly in the third set as Freeman helped the Falcons score the first four points with three service aces during the opening run. Schul ended the run with a kill, but UT Permian Basin answered by scoring four straight points to push its advantage to 8-1. The Falcons eventually extended their lead to 10-2 before Grace Helzer recorded a kill and Luce and Nothdurft combined for a block to pull the Pack within 10-4. UT Permian Basin responded by scoring five straight points to take a 15-4 lead. CSU Pueblo continued to battle and, trailing 19-8, received an assisted block from Schul and Zwart, a Schul kill and a Zwart solo block to pull within 19-11. After the Falcons moved back in front 21-12, the Pack scored three straight points behind a Pino kill and two UT Permian Basin errors to cut the deficit to 21-15. The Falcons, though, closed the match by scoring the final four points. Salgado recorded three consecutive kills before Johnson and Bradley combined for a block on match point to give UT Permian Basin the 25-15 set victory and 3-0 match win. CSU Pueblo had eight kills and hit -.083 in the final set, while UT Permian Basin recorded nine kills and hit .107.
The Pack are back in action tonight, as they will face off against host Angelo State University in the finale of the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational at 6:30 p.m. Mountain Time from the Junell Center in San Angelo.
