Box Score
DURANGO, Colo. — The Fort Lewis volleyball team (5-11 overall, 2-6 in the
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) rallied from a two-sets-to-one deficit to beat Colorado State-Pueblo (9-7, 8-3) tonight in a thrilling five-game win at Whalen Gymasium. The Skyhawks eventually prevailed, 25-23, 22-25, 16-25, 25-19, 15-12.
“I feel like tonight was a turning point for the squad,” said eighth-year FLC head coach Shelly Aaland. “Tonight was a highly-powered offensive match and we showed a much improved offensive effort.”
Four true freshmen paced the Skyhawks to victory. Right side hitter
Stephani Sonka had 17 kills and a .469 hitting efficiency. Outside hitter
Ashley Wells drilled 17 kills and a .371 attack percentage. Middle blocker
Gladymar Echeverria had eight kills, a .312 hitting percentage and five blocks. Setter
Ciara Krening distributed 49 assists and had nine digs while leading FLC to a .242 hitting percentage.
“I think Ciara ran a tremendous offense tonight and did a very good job finding the right hitters at the right time,” said Aaland. “And
Stephani Sonka and
Ashley Wells were workhorses for us tonight.”
Senior outside hitter
Jessica Wilson added 13 kills and a trio of block assists for FLC. Sophomore middle blocker
Taylor Frederking added eight kills and three blocks.
Fort Lewis also received some timely defense when needed. Sophomore libero
Jenna Kinzer recorded 18 digs and six assists. The Skyhawk blockers also came through in late sets, notching nine of their 10 team blocks in sets 3-5.
CSU-Pueblo also put up some impressive numbers, hitting .257 as a team with 63 kills. Alea Wildman led the way with 17 kills and a .485 attack efficiency. Bernadette Pitre added 15 kills and four blocks. Setter Kacy Griffin had 47 assists, 11 digs and six kills.
The fifth game was a see-saw affair that saw FLC race out to leads of 5-2, 7-4, and 9-5. Momentum quickly swung in CSU-Pueblo's favor, though, as the ThunderWolves reeled off five straight points to take a 10-5 lead on a pair of kills from April Gonzales and one from Wildman, plus a couple of Wilson attack errors for FLC.
Fort Lewis composed itself, though, and took the lead for good at 12-11 on a Pitre attack error. Kills by Sonka and Echeverria stretched the lead to 14-12 before Echeverria and Sonka blocked Pitre on game point.
The Skyhawks continue their homestand against Western State (3-13, 0-8) at noon Sunday in Whalen Gymnasium.
