Box score

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The effort was there. The team's ability to make adjustments on the fly was there. But you can't coach height and in the end, a taller UC-Colorado Springs volleyball team (14-6 overall, 9-3 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) swept Fort Lewis (9-10, 5-6) 28-26, 25-18, 25-23 tonight at the Gallogly Events Center.
 
“I'm actually really proud of the effort we gave,” said ninth-year Fort Lewis head coach Shelly Aaland. “We've been talking about some team changes we need to make internally. This is the best team effort we've had all year. It was the best display we've had in terms of adjusting as the game went on. They took the feedback we gave them and made changes.
 
“We just couldn't handle the size that they have,” Aaland added.
 
The Mountain Lions utilized a host of 6-footers, including middle blockers Nikki Kinzer (6-foot-2) and Megan Koop (6-0), hitters Amy Einsphar (6-foot-3), Amanda Bloom (6-foot-2), and Jordan Banich (6-foot-1).
 
That group — plus 5-foot-9 outside hitter Kim Cartlett, who had a Mountain Lion-high 13 kills — hit a solid .272 on the night with 53 kills. Banich and Bloom registered 10 kills each, Kinzer — the older sister of Skyhawk libero Nikki Kinzer — added nine, and Einsphar notched eight.
 
UCCS utilized a 6-2 offense that rotated setters and right side hitters leaving taller players at the net throughout the rotation.
 
Still, Fort Lewis found itself in positions to win the first and third sets.
 
“The problem is we still need to finish,” said Aaland. “We had the opportunity to win the first set and just gave them some points. We can't do that. (UCCS) is just too good to give away points.”
 
Stephani Sonka's kill gave FLC a 24-20 lead and four set points in the first. UCCS reeled off four straight kills, though, to tie it up at 24 en route to a first set win.
 
Fort Lewis held a 22-20 lead in the third before a similar Mountain Lion run swung the lead and momentum with four straight points.
 
FLC's Kinzer had a big night defensively, notching a whopping 21 digs, three assists, and a couple of service aces. Ashley Wells recorded 12 kills, Hannah Starbuck and Stephani Sonka had eight kills each, while Kristin Stephan added five blocks.
 
Fort Lewis continues its three-day, three-game trek through the toughest portion of the RMAC East Division at 7 p.m. at the Auraria Events Center in Denver, where it will square off against No. 23 Metro State (12-7, 7-4). The Skyhawks then travel a short distance to the Regis Fieldhouse to face No. 17 Regis (16-6, 10-2) at 5 p.m. on Saturday.