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Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

Kendall Deeter 1.24
Samuel Boender, CSM Athletics
FLC junior Kendall Deeter (#10) finished with 14 kills and 3 block assists in Sunday's match against Colorado School of Mines.
0
Fort Lewis FLCVB 0-1
3
Winner MSU Denver MSVB 1-0
Fort Lewis FLCVB
0-1
0
Final
3
MSU Denver MSVB
1-0
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Fort Lewis FLCVB 19 16 18 (0)
MSU Denver MSVB 25 25 25 (3)
1
Fort Lewis FLCVB 0-2
3
Winner Colo. Sch. of Mines CSM 1-0
Fort Lewis FLCVB
0-2
1
Final
3
Colo. Sch. of Mines CSM
1-0
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Fort Lewis FLCVB 18 25 22 30 (1)
Colo. Sch. of Mines CSM 25 21 25 32 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

Skyhawks hang tough against two of the RMAC's best in season-opening pod at MSU Denver

DENVER, Colorado — The Fort Lewis College volleyball team got the 2021 spring season underway on Sunday at a three-team pod hosted by Metropolitan State University of Denver, falling in two tightly contested matches against two of the RMAC's best.

Fort Lewis (0-2 overall, 0-2 RMAC) began the day with a 25-19, 25-16 and 25-18 loss to pod hosts MSU Denver, which tied as the preseason favorites in the RMAC in the coaches' preseason poll.

The Skyhawks responded with a spirited effort in their second match of the day, pushing No. 19 ranked Colorado School of Mines to the verge of five sets (25-18, 21-25, 25-22, 32-30).

"This was a good beginning to our season. I was satisfied with how we played, but at the same time I'm hungry and I know that's the same attitude our team has," said FLC first-year head volleyball coach, Giedre Tarnauskaite. "I think we realized that we can actually compete. We came out fighting. Having a younger team, we're still learning through some things, trying different lineups and matchups. We saw that we can play well and hang with the best in our conference."
 

Match #2 against No. 19 Colorado Mines
The Skyhawks capped their day with a thrilling four-set match against the nationally ranked Orediggers, and defending RMAC Tournament champions, propelled by a FLC offense that caught fire in Set Two's 25-21 win.

After struggling to gai traction offensively through the day's first four sets, Fort Lewis posted a .361 hitting percentage in Set Two with 15 kills and just two errors on 36 attempts.

Sophomore middle blocker Rylee Johnson and senior outside hitter Alexa Treguboff each recorded career-highs in kills. Johnson finished with a team-high 16 kills on a staggering .452 hitting percentage, while Treguboff had 15 kills and nine digs on a .406 hitting percentage.

Junior transfer Kendall Deeter was the third Skyhawk in double-figures with 14 kills and a .414 hitting percentage from the middle blocker position, giving FLC a balanced offensive attack that finished the match with 59 kills versus 17 errors on 162 attempts (.259 hitting percentage).

True freshman outside hitter Chailyn Swenson finished the day with six kills, four against Colorado Mines, in her first collegiate start, as well.

"We've been really working with the team on charting and learning about our opponents and we used that to our advantage. Our middle were very productive and I was proud of how they attacked," Tarnauskaite said. "Our ball control gave us opportunities to score and by scoring effectively in the middle, it opened our pins for us. Having multiple options on the front row definitely put a lot of pressure on the opponent."

Junior setter Makena Ahuna shined quarterbacking the FLC offense, finishing with 49 assists and 16 digs, defensively, in just her second start as a Skyhawk after transferring in from Eastern Arizona College.

"Makena and I had a chat between the games about how to bring the best out of our hitters and put pressure on the opponent. She made a lot of adjustments and I'm really proud of her," Tarnauskaite said. "As a setter, she has a lot of pressure and responsibility on her shoulders. She definitely rose up to the challenge in the Colorado Mines match."

Fort Lewis held leads in both the third and fourth sets, including a 27-26 advantage in a wild back-and-forth fourth set, but were unable to close the door on the Orediggers as they won the final two sets 25-22 and 32-30, respectively.

Sophomore defensive specialist Kamryn Lopez led all Skyhawks with 13 digs against the Orediggers, while FLC received solid contributions off the bench from junior newcomers Madi Nash (three kills, five digs) and Cameron Callahan (four kills, six digs, to block assists).
 

Match #1 against MSU Denver
Fort Lewis opened up pod action with a three-set loss to host MSU Denver, which tied with Regis University atop the RMAC Coaches' Preseason Poll released earlier in the week.

The Skyhawks held a 12-10 lead in Set One, taking advantage of six early attacking errors by the Roadrunners, but MSU Denver responded with a 6-2 run en route to taking the opening set, 25-18.

Working out the first-game jitters, the FLC offense was limited to a .121 attack percentage (30 kills and 17 errors on 107 attempts), while the Roadrunners had three different players reach double-figures in kills and hit .340 as a team.

Nash led all Skyhawks with eight kills off the bench, while Callahan added five kills and the trio of Deeter, Johnson and Treguboff each chipped in four kills.

Treguboff tallied a team-high 14 digs and Ahuna notched 22 assists and six digs to round out FLC's top performers against the Roadrunners.

"There were a lot of nerves and a lot of excitement. I think it took us a little while to get into a groove that first match against MSU Denver," Tarnauskaite said. "I believe that we could make some adjustments and compete better (against MSU Denver) and I think that was reflected in how we came out against Colorado Mines."

Fort Lewis will look to build off the positives from Sunday's matches when it hits the road again Thursday for a single match against Adams State University.

That match is scheduled to get underway at 6 p.m. Thursday inside Plachy Hall.
 
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