Adams St. ASC 8-17,5-12 RMAC

Fort Lewis FLC 9-14,7-10 RMAC

Adams St. ASC

8-17,5-12 RMAC

Final

Nov. 04, 2022

Fort Lewis FLC

9-14,7-10 RMAC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Adams St. ASC	12	13	25	12	(1)
Fort Lewis FLC	25	25	22	25	(3)

Summary
Box Score

Hayden Mangan, Fort Lewis Athletic Communications

Senior Rylee Johnson (16) led the team with a career-high 16 kills (.583)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | 11/4/2022 8:24:00 PM | Angela Roberts, Assistant AD - Communications

Dominant night from Butler and Johnson leads Skyhawks over Grizzlies, 3-1

DURANGO, Colo. – A season-best hitting percentage, led by the efforts of middle blockers Rylee Johnson and Ella Butler, resulted in an important 3-1 win over Adams State University in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play on Friday.

"Rylee (Johnson) had a performance that you hope to see from a senior player. She was unstoppable, and her leadership was impressive," said head coach Giedre Tarnauskaite. "Ella (Butler) not only attacked efficiently in the front row, but her serves were tough, and it was evident why she is one of the top servers in the RMAC."

The senior/freshman duo of Johnson and Butler combined for 25 of the team's 53 kills on a .666 hitting efficiency. Johnson's 16-kill effort ties a career-high and her hitting percentage of .583 is a new record, bettering a .563 mark against Western New Mexico early in the year. Butler was one shy of a career-high with nine kills, but her errorless efficiency of .750 shattered her previous mark of .466 (vs. Texas Permian Basin, Sept. 3).

"I'm very proud of our offense tonight. It has been our focus point during practice, and it paid off," said Tarnauskaite. "Natalia (Lambos) did a great job distributing the ball, and our middles had a stellar night.

Fort Lewis improves to 9-14 overall and 7-10 in the league with one match remaining in the regular season. The win bodes well for the Skyhawks' chances of making the RMAC Tournament, which begins next Thursday, but a win tomorrow would make things much less complicated should tiebreaker scenarios arise. The team will have its eyes on the scores from South Dakota Mines and UCCS this weekend with the trio of teams in a cluster for positioning.

In addition to the efficient attacking, the Skyhawks were dynamic from the service line. The team earned 12 service aces to mark a season-high and bring their season total to 134. True to form, Butler led the team with five aces to bring her season total to 35 with a mark of .49 service aces per set to rank second in the conference. Junior JJ Curry followed with a career-high of four service aces in 18 errorless chances.

Curry was equally as impressive on the pin with nine kills on 21 swings (.286). Sophomore Alexis Hobie also earned nine kills to go along with 12 digs and three blocks. Senior Kamryn Lopez led all players with 19 digs and 17 errorless reception attempts. Sophomore Natalia Lambos was masterful at setter and totaled 48 assists and a pair of kills.

Set One (25-12)
The Skyhawks could not have asked for a better start to the match, jumping out to an 11-0 lead and hitting 100% through their first five attacks. The Grizzlies finally found a side out and went on to make it a 12-4 score thanks to a pair of tough calls on Fort Lewis. Fort Lewis continued to press and went on a 5-0 run to bring on set point, 24-9. Adams State regrouped and earned a pair of kills to hold off the set's end, but a big kill off the hand of Butler closed it out. Fort Lewis held Adams State to just four kills to go along with seven attacking errors in the opening set.

Set Two (25-13)
The second set began differently as the visitors picked up the first point. The Skyhawks quickly jumped ahead 7-3, earning kills from Curry and Johnson along the way. Despite the home team's momentum, the Grizzlies kept it close as the score reached double-digits. Lucky for the Skyhawks, the Grizzlies could not find an answer for the scoring runs, and a big 7-1 run had Fort Lewis at set point. Adams State got one back, but Hobie put it away with an authoritative kill to give her team the two-set advantage. Fort Lewis sided out at a match-best 76% for the set.

Set Three (22-25)
It was back-and-forth immediately in set three as a trio of ties and lead changes brought the teams to a 15-15 score. Curry earned a service ace to give Fort Lewis another lead, and her stout serving led to an 18-15 advantage. The Grizzlies began involving the middles late in the set, earning a pair of kills to go up 22-20. Junior Lauren Shea pounded away a kill down the line to pull her team within one, but a service error and Adams State ace brought the score to 24-21. The Skyhawks scored one more on a Butler kill, but the Grizzlies answered right back with their 17^th kill of the set to end it.

Set Four (25-12)
Returning to form, the Skyhawks went on a huge run behind the service of Shea to see an 11-2 lead in the fourth. Adams State saw its best run midway through the set, picking up three straight with a block and Fort Lewis attacking errors, to bring the score to 20-11. Shea found herself back at the service line and earned her second ace of the match to make it 22-11. Adams State score once more in the late points, but another big kill from Hobie ended the match at 25-12.

Up Next
Fort Lewis (9-14, 7-10 RMAC) will be back inside of Whalen Gymasium tomorrow night for the regular season finale against New Mexico Highlands. The match begins at 7:00 p.m., and the team will honor its three seniors, Rylee Johnson, Kamryn Lopez, and Joviana Romero, prior to first serve.

Fort Lewis and NMHU met to open the conference portion of the season on September 6 with Fort Lewis earning a 3-1 win in Las Vegas. Hobie notched a double-double with 17 kills and 11 digs. The win pushes the series history to 20-9 in favor of Fort Lewis.

"I am very excited for senior night, and I am looking forward to watching the team carry this momentum to fight for a win," said Tarnauskaite in closing.

Print Friendly Version