Click here for Saint Anselm box score.
Click here for Academy of Art box score.
Click here for Dixie State box score.
Click here for Mary box score.

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Fort Lewis (3-5 overall) went 3-1 in four games at the Western Colorado Fall Classic, hosted by Mesa State and Western State the past two days at Brownson Arena and the Hamilton Rec Center.

“We saw a great amount of improvement this weekend,” said eighth-year FLC head coach Shelly Aaland. “First and foremost by finishing and getting wins,” she added, in reference to her team's two five-game losses last weekend in Golden. “We made the most out of our preseason matches to get us ready for conference play.”

Behind the play of sophomore middle blockers Kristin Stephan and Taylor Frederking, the Skyhawks swept their Saturday games, beating Academy of Art (Calif.) (2-6 overall) 25-20, 18-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-10 and Saint Anselm (N.H.) (1-5) 25-20, 25-14, 25-23.

“Our middles did a good job today in both matches,” said Aaland, “both offensively and defensively. They made it tough for our opponents to defend us.”

In the win against Saint Anselm, Frederking led the way with nine kills, four blocks and a .562 hitting efficiency. Stephan countered with four blocks and three kills as FLC outblocked the Hawks 10-1. Senior outside hitter Jessica Wilson added seven kills and five blocks, while sophomore setter Hali Groninger had 17 assists, four kills, and a pair of service aces.

Charlotte Tencza led Saint Anselm with seven kills.

In today's first game, Fort Lewis and Academy of Art went toe-to-toe in a five-set thriller. FLC's middles again sparked the Skyhawks as Stephan (10 kills, seven blocks) and Frederking (nine kills, six blocks) dominated. Sophomore defensive specialist Hannah Starbuck added 13 digs and four service aces.

The Urban Knights swung wildly, smacking 67 kills yet registering 36 hitting errors. The latter proved to be their undoing. With the decisive fifth set knotted at 6-6, Fort Lewis reeled off four straight points on an Ashley Wells ace and three Academy of Art attack miscues. Wells ultimately recorded the game-winning kill.

Academy of Art saw four players notch double-digit kills, including Holli Kaina (18 kills), Leinani Keanini (17 kills, 13 digs), Mykal Vailu'u (13 kills, 19 digs) and Amy Bush (11 kills).

Fort Lewis won the blocking (15-4) and service ace (11-7) battles against the Urban Knights.

The Skyhawks split their two games yesterday, beating Mary (N.D.) (1-7 overall) 21-25, 25-16, 27-25, 25-16 before losing to Dixie State (Utah) (5-3) 25-19, 25-21, 25-9.

Stephan, Wilson, and freshman right side hitter Stefani Sonka each had 11 kills in the win against the Marauders. The big story, though, was FLC's dominance in service. The Skyhawks notched 14 aces, including five by Wilson and three each by sophomore libero Jenna Kinzer and senior defensive specialist Heather Bryant. Kinzer (24 digs) and Bryant (12 digs) were also defensive stalwarts, while freshman setter Ciara Krening had 45 assists.

The Marauders were led by Julie Paradine (13 kills) and Lauren Boldt (11 kills).

Dixie State, which, like Fort Lewis, went 3-1 in the tournament, dismantled the Skyhawks in three sets. The Red Storm outhit FLC .194 to -.034 and outblocked them 7-3. Alex Shearer had 12 kills, while Morgan Hill added 11 kills and five blocks for DSU.

Fort Lewis was led by Wells (five kills) and Sonka (four kills). Kinzer added 26 digs and two aces.

The Skyhawks open Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play when it hosts UC-Colorado Springs (4-4 overall) at 7 p.m. Thursday in Whalen Gymnasium. Metro State (7-1) and Regis (7-2) visit FLC at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, respectively.