Box Score

DURANGO, Colo. — The Fort Lewis College volleyball team held onto its tenuous grip atop the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference West Division by ousting a spirited Adams State College squad in five sets (23-25, 25-22, 25-19, 18-25, 15-13) tonight at Whalen Gymnasium.

The Skyhawks won their sixth straight game to improve to 12-5 overall, 6-3 in the RMAC, staying a half-game ahead of Western New Mexico University and a full game in front of Mesa State College — the next opponent on FLC's schedule.

“Tonight's match was a great display of this team's will to win,” said seventh-year FLC head coach Shelly Aaland. “They fought as a team and got the result. As in the past five games, the team showed tenacity and a great amount of finishing power. This is a fun team to coach and watch.”

A quick glance at the box score proved how close the match was. Adams State out-killed FLC 61-55 and out-dug FLC 72-67, but suffered with its efficiency, logging 40 attack errors and a .117 hitting percentage. The Skyhawks managed to out-block the Grizzlies 11-9, including several timely ones.

Adams State raced out to a first set win thanks to eight kills by outside hitter Dominique Davis, who led all players with 20 kills on the night to go along with 14 digs, two aces and two blocks. The see-saw first set saw neither team lead by more than three points.

Fort Lewis fared better in the second frame, largely due to a Grizzly team that hit .000 during the set. With the score tied at 19-19, the Skyhawks reeled off five straight points on a pair of Jessica Wilson kills, a Heather Bryant service ace and two ASC hitting errors. After ASC pulled to within two points at 24-22, Taylor Hillberry and Adriana Saiz blocked Megan Tapia at set point.

Each team took relatively easy wins in the third and fourth stanzas. FLC won the third 25-19 by hitting .407 (15 kills, four errors); ASC matched the effort in the fourth by winning 25-18. The latter featured a scary moment for Aaland's troops, as starting setter Saiz strained her knee and was relieved by freshman Hali Groninger. While Saiz did return near the end of the fourth set, it was not enough to hold off Adams State.

The bizarre deciding set saw attack errors outnumber kills (the teams combined for 13 hitting errors and just 12 kills in the set) and huge momentum shifts. The Skyhawks took a 4-1 lead on a Chelsea Flaming kill, only to watch the Grizzlies knot the score at 4-4 on three straight kills by Tapia, Deprece Washington and Davis. The ebb-and-flow continued until the home side took an 11-7 lead after a Wilson kill and a block by Hillberry and Taryn Pearce. Adams then went on a 5-0 run to grab the lead at 12-11, thanks in large part to four FLC hitting errors.

The turning point came at 12-12, when Washington was called for interfering with Saiz's set. After a Hillberry kill set FLC up with game point, ASC's Tapia hit the ball into the net to end the game.

Wilson led the Skyhawks with 16 kills and 11 digs, while Hillberry added 14 kills and eight blocks. Freshman libero Jenna Kinzer led all players with 23 digs. Saiz had 48 assists and four blocks.

Aside from the hard-hitting Davis, the Grizzlies were led by setter Mary McNeil, who logged a career-high 50 assists to go along with 13 digs and four kills. Tapia had 17 kills and three blocks. Libero A.J. Palmer had 18 digs to eclipse the 1,000 career dig mark (she now has 1,011).

The Skyhawks hit the road for a 4 p.m. matinee at Mesa State (10-6, 4-3) on Sunday. The Mavericks also host Adams St. at 7 p.m. tomorrow.