N.M. Highlands NMH 7-19,4-14 RMAC

Fort Lewis FLC 10-14,8-10 RMAC

N.M. Highlands NMH

7-19,4-14 RMAC

Final

Nov. 05, 2022

Fort Lewis FLC

10-14,8-10 RMAC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	F
N.M. Highlands NMH	25	21	19	29	(1)
Fort Lewis FLC	21	25	25	31	(3)

Summary
Box Score

Hayden Mangan, Fort Lewis Athletic Communications

The Skyhawks earned a 31-29 win in set three to claim a 3-1 win over NMHU

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | 11/5/2022 10:04:00 PM | Angela Roberts, Assistant AD - Communications

Skyhawks earn spot in RMAC Tournament with electric win over NMHU

DURANGO, Colo. – Of freshman Ella Butler's 11 kills on the night, her final swing was the grandest. The middle blocker closed out a 31-29 fourth-set thriller with a shot through the block, sending the Fort Lewis College volleyball team to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament in a defeat of New Mexico Highlands University on Saturday.

"It is beyond exciting to watch the team compete at the level they did tonight," said head coach Giedre Tarnauskaite. "The composure that we showed at the end of the match shows our growth and fighting spirit. Each player came through for use at key moments throughout the match."

Though offense eventually won the match, it was defense that had fans on their feet from start to finish. The teams totaled 159 digs on the night with 79 coming from the Skyhawks. The dig mark was the second-highest clip of the season and the most in a four-set match since November 2, 2019.

The relentless pursuit paid off as Fort Lewis improved to 10-14 on the year and ended the conference portion of the schedule with an 8-10 record. The win secures the eight seed in the RMAC Tournament which is set to kick off on Thursday at the Auraria Event Center in Denver. Fort Lewis will face the league and nation's top team in MSU Denver who went undefeated through league play.

Taking a peek at the box score for the match, the Skyhawks and Cowgirls both hit .188 for the match. NMHU held a 9-5 edge in blocks while Fort Lewis had a 9-6 advantage in service aces. Four Skyhawks had double-digit kills, led by Hobie's 15-kill effort. Senior Rylee Johnson followed with 13 kills on 29 swings (.276). Junior Lauren Shea had 13 kills and 12 digs for her third double-double of the season. Butler was the team's most efficient attacker with 11 kills (.556) to go along with three service aces. Sophomore Natalia Lambos dished out 48 assists and came away with a season-high 12 digs. Senior Kamryn Lopez led the team with 19 digs for the match
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Set One (21-25)
Things were falling in favor of the Cowgirls early in the evening as the visitors built an 11-4 lead in the opener. Hobie found a side-out kill, and Fort Lewis followed with a string of points to make it 13-9. Momentum building, the home team made it a one-point match thanks to an attacking error, and moments later the Skyhawks tied it 15-15 with a dump by Lambos. The teams tied twice more before a three-point run had NMHU ahead 20-17. Fort Lewis buckled down to make it 21-20 with a kill from junior JJ Curry, but a trio of kills cut the comeback short in the first set.

Set Two (25-21)
The Skyhawks gave the Cowgirls a taste of their own medicine in set two, going ahead 7-3 behind a serving run from Lopez. NMHU kept it close throughout the middle part of the set, but an ace from Butler had the home team ahead 20-15—the largest lead of the set. Blocking and a kill from NMHU's Terayah Stukes moved the score to 201-8 before an attacking error had the ball back in the hands of Fort Lewis. The teams traded points down the stretch but kills from Johnson and Hobie secured the win to tie the match.

Set Three (25-19)
Looking at the final score of set three, it might be hard to believe that the Cowgirls exploded to an 8-1 lead out of the intermission. Fort Lewis benefitted from a service error and tacked on three more with an ace and the first block of the match from Johnson and Lambos. The lead remained in favor of the Cowgirls momentarily, but a 10-1 scoring surge flipped the script on a 16-13 lead for Fort Lewis. Shea contributed two kills during the stretch while outsides Curry and Hobie each had one. NMHU battled to earn side-outs after the slow stretch, but the team's eighth attacking error of the set closed it out in favor of Fort Lewis.

Set Four (31-29)
The fourth set was a true defensive juggernaut from the jump. Unlike the first three sets, the fourth was tightly contested from first serve. The teams had five tied scores before a kill from Shea and Johnson block put Fort Lewis ahead 11-9. The lead was not safe, however, as a four-point run put the Cowgirls ahead 13-11. The Skyhawks fought back with kills by Johnson and Hobie to tie it again at 13-13. From there, there were five ties and five lead changes as the score crept to 20-18 in favor of the Skyhawks.

A huge block by Lambos and Butler seemed to all but seal the deal with the first set point emerging at 24-21. The scrappy Cowgirls had something to say about that, though, and scored on three kills to tie it at 24-24. Shea got set point back with a kill, but NMHU reverse the roles with a kill to find their own set point at 26-25. Butler fought it off with a kill through the block, but set point kept finding the hands of the visitors. Fort Lewis finally caught a break when a service error pushed the score to 29-29. With the energy inside of Whalen Gymnasium reaching an all-time high, Shea dropped in a kill on a sprawling dig that made its way to the front right corner. Moments later, Butler called her own number with a stoic kill through a seam in the block to send the Skyhawks to the RMAC Tournament.

Up Next
Fort Lewis (10-14, 8-10 RMAC) will gear up for a Thursday matchup against No. 1 MSU Denver (25-1, 18-0 RMAC) at the Auraria Event Center in Denver. First serve at the RMAC Tournament is set for noon.

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