RAPID CITY, South Dakota — The Fort Lewis College volleyball team got off to a fast start in a three-team pod hosted by South Dakota School of Mines, but ended up dropping six straight sets to the Hardrockers and Mavericks of Colorado Mesa University to finish 0-2 after making their longest road trip of the season.
The Skyhawks (3-5, 3-4 RMAC) quickly put to rest any fears of jet lag when they rolled onto the court and dominated the first set Saturday morning to claim a 25-13 win against the host-team. But the Hardrockers overcame a sluggish start and held off a big push from Fort Lewis to take the next three sets 26-24, 25-16 and 25-23.
Things didn't get any better for Fort Lewis when they came back on the court to face undefeated Colorado Mesa University a little over an hour later. Although they managed a spirited effort, the Skyhawks fell in straight sets to the Mavericks (25-17, 25-19, 25-15).
"Overall, this was a tough day for us as a team," said FLC head volleyball coach, Giedre Tarnauskaite. "I think that both teams came out fighting pretty hard, and we struggled to answer back."
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Match #1 against South Dakota School of Mines
In Match One of the pod, Fort Lewis got out to a fast start and never looked back on the way to claiming the first set in convincing fashion over the host team. The Skyhawks made themselves comfortable at the net early, and took advantage of 11 attack errors by the Hardrockers - while making only three of their own - to stretch a 15-10 lead and win the first set running away.
Madi Nash and Makena Ahuna sparked the early outburst for Fort Lewis. Each of them recorded four digs to frustrate South Dakota Mines early, and Nash added three kills and a service ace to her first set numbers while Ahuna chipped in with four set assists and a kill of her own.
The home team came out determined to dictate the tone of the match in the second set, and Fort Lewis had to withstand a furious offensive onslaught, with the Hardrockers attacking 57 times in the set. Fort Lewis countered at the net with five blocks to force Mines into another 11 attacking errors.
The Hardrockers powered their way to a 17-13 lead, but Fort Lewis fought back to tie it at 18-18. The teams would trade points and stay deadlocked to 24-24 before South Dakota Mines finally scored two straight to will their way to victory and tie the match at one set apiece.
Mines would take the momentum of the second set win into the next frame, and the home team jumped out to a 10-3 lead. The Skyhawks could stop the bleeding, but only tallied four kills in the set. They were unable to cut into the lead and would fall by six.
With their backs against the wall, the Skyhawks bolted out to a 5-1 lead in the fourth set on the strength of two kills from Nash and another from Rylee Johnson, but Mines quickly answered to tie the set at 6-6. The two squads battled back and forth and remained in a virtual dead heat until the Hardrockers pushed out to a 15-12 lead. Fort Lewis would rally to tie it 17-17 and again at 20-20, but the South Dakota team completed the comeback to win by two and defend their home court.
"We started out really well against South Dakota Mines. We hit our assignments and had all the discipline at the beginning, but when we felt them push back we couldn't answer. We tried different things, but just came up short," Tarnauskaite said.
The Hardrockers held a 161-128 advantage in attacks, and used that edge to score 43 kills to only 31 for Fort Lewis. The Skyhawks only committed half as many errors on the attack (17) as the Hardrockers (34) and doubled the home team in blocks (10-5), but it wasn't enough to steal a win on the road.
Nash led the way in a losing effort with 10 kills and 11 digs, while Alexa Treguboff (nine kills, four blocks) and Cameron Callahan (six kills, three blocks) put up solid numbers from the outside hitter position as well. Treguboff's effort to counter Mines' relentless attacks at the net drew particular praise from her coach.
"I am very proud of Alexis' leadership. In the first match she showed up and took matters into her own hands by showing what being a leader on the court is all about. Keep grinding. Keep working. Keep pushing. Keep fighting. She was definitely leading our team," Tarnauskaite said.
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Match #2 vs. Colorado Mesa University
Facing the rival Mavericks on a far-off neutral court didn't make the challenge any less daunting in the next contest of the day, but Fort Lewis traded blows for a time in all three sets against Colorado Mesa before ultimately coming up short.
"Mesa did a good job of being disciplined," Tarnauskaite said.
In the first set, Fort Lewis kept pace to 5-5 before the Mavericks went on a roll and took a 12-6 lead. The Skyhawks battled back to within a couple of points at 14-12, but Mesa put the pedal to the metal and claimed an eight point victory.
Johnson provided an offensive spark in the opening stanza with four kills and an ace, and libero Kamryn Lopez did her part to keep it close by tallying four digs and an ace of her own, but it wasn't enough.
Fort Lewis made their biggest push of the match in the second set, trading points with Mesa to an 8-8 tie and then going on a three point run to lead 11-8 after Callahan recorded a kill and followed it with two straight service points. Treguboff made her presence felt at the net again with four kills in the set, and the Skyhawks would eventually take a 16-10 lead on three straight service points from Johnson, including an ace. Mesa would quickly respond to tie the game at 19-19, however, and they scored the next six points to close out the set.
Fort Lewis rebounded yet again to start the third set and pushed Mesa to a 6-6 tie, but the Mavericks put together another run to take a 12-7 lead and the Skyhawks simply ran out of rallies in a 25-15 loss.
"They're really just a great offensive and defensive team, and it's not easy to find cracks when you play against them. Our team knew that, and we pushed forward, but the momentum just stayed with Colorado Mesa this time," Tarnauskaite said.
Treguboff led the way with 10 kills and seven digs, while Johnson logged seven kills and a pair of serving aces. Ahuna had 24 set assists, six digs and a pair of blocks. Lopez continued her stellar defensive play with 15 digs, and also chipped in with an ace and an assist.
"Kam Lopez played really well. I think her defense was relentless. She hit every assignment and really studied the opponents. She stuck with our game plan and executed it very well. She was challenged multiple times, but was able to stop both Mesa and South Dakota Mines," Tarnauskaite said.
Although her team was disappointed with the outcomes of the contests in South Dakota, the Fort Lewis coach was confident her team would use the lessons from Saturday to improve.
"I think we still have much to learn, and we're still growing and figuring things out," she said.
The team will have an entire week to practice and put the two conference losses behind them before they return to the court at home next Saturday to face the CSU-Pueblo Thunderwolves. The February 27 contest is set to begin a 6 p.m. in Whalen Gymnasium.
