Box Score

GUNNISON, Colo. — For the second time this month, Western State (6-15 overall, 3-10 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) scraped out a four-set win over Fort Lewis (5-16, 2-11) tonight in Paul Wright Gym. The Mountaineers won, 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 27-25.

“It was a pretty evenly-matched game, we just made mistakes at the wrong time,” said eighth-year FLC head coach Shelly Aaland. “There were plenty of positives. Every aspect of the game was good at certain times, just not all together. We had good opportunities to win the first and second sets. When you're down 2-0, it's just much tougher to overcome the deficit.”

After taking the third game 25-21, the Skyhawks had their chances to force a fifth set. The back-and-forth fourth frame saw FLC avert game points at 24-23 and 25-24 before ultimately losing the last two points.

“We had a chance in the fourth game and a missed serve here and a missed hit at the end,” said Aaland. “We just can't have that.”

Outside hitters Jessica Wilson and Ashley Wells led the Skyhawk attack with 12 kills each. Wells added 29 digs and two blocks, while Wilson had 12 digs. Libero Hannah Starbuck recorded 21 digs. Middle blocker Gladymar Echeverria notched six blocks (five solo), while setter Ciara Krening had 37 assists.

As a team, Fort Lewis hit just .103 with 43 kills.

The Mountaineers were paced by Stephanie Schlis (12 kills, four blocks) and Sara Larson (10 kills, three blocks).

As a team, they outperformed FLC in nearly every category, including kills (54-43), aces (9-6), digs (96-85), blocks (10-7), and hitting efficiency (.133 to .103). WSC errors kept FLC in the match, as the Mountaineers had 30 hitting miscues and 12 serving errors.

The road doesn't get any easier for Fort Lewis. The Skyhawks departed Gunnison shortly before 10 p.m. en route to Pueblo, where they'll arrive around 1 a.m. — just 13 hours prior to tomorrow's rare matinee game against Colorado State-Pueblo (11-10, 7-6). The game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

FLC concludes the RMAC regular season with four straight at home.