South Dakota Mines SDSMT 10-6,4-4 RMAC

Fort Lewis FLC 7-9,4-4 RMAC

South Dakota Mines SDSMT

10-6,4-4 RMAC

Final

Oct. 07, 2023

Fort Lewis FLC

7-9,4-4 RMAC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	F
South Dakota Mines SDSMT	25	25	22	25	(3)
Fort Lewis FLC	16	21	25	20	(1)

Summary
Box Score

Kaitlyn Silva

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | 10/7/2023 5:40:00 PM | Angela Roberts, Assistant AD - Communications

Weekend finale goes to Hardrockers in four sets

DURANGO, Colo. – Skyhawks volleyball was unable to overcome an early deficit, falling to the Hardrockers in a four-set battle on Saturday afternoon.

Fort Lewis fell to 7-9 overall and 2-4 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play while South Dakota Mines improved to 10-6, 4-2 RMAC.

Despite outhitting their opponent in sets two and three, Fort Lewis was outhit for the match at a .238 to .167 difference. Senior Lauren Shea led the team with 13 kills on 24 attempts, followed by junior JJ Curry who contributed 10 kills to go along with seven digs. Sophomore Ella Butler had another efficient match with nine kills on 15 errorless swings. Junior Natalia Lambos dished out 36 assists and came away with eight digs. Junior Sarah Wilkey led the team with nine digs.

The Skyhawks carried an early lead in the opening set, setting three-straight points on the serve of Butler to make it 9-6. From there, South Dakota Mines went on a handful of small scoring runs to go ahead 16-12. Fort Lewis got a few points on miscues by the visitors, but a 6-1 scoring run ended the first set in a 25-16 score.

The Hardrockers carried that momentum into set two and saw an early 11-7 lead. The Skyhawks came back with blocks by freshman Jordyn Romano and an ace from junior Alexis Hobie to tie up at 11-all. The teams traded points before a surge had the visiting team up 21-15. Fort Lewis pressed with three-straight points late in the set, but an eventual kill secured a 25-21 win for South Dakota Mines.

Adjustment became apparent in the third set as the Skyhawks quickly went ahead 8-2. The lead grew thanks to a kill and ace by Butler, making it 11-4. Fort Lewis forged ahead with five in a row, seeing blocks by Shea and Romano, to bring the score to 16-7. The Hardrockers flexed some late fight with a 7-1 run, but Shea closed the set out with a kill at 25-22.

Fort Lewis earned another early lead in the fourth set thanks to a serving run from Wilkey to make it 6-1. The visitors battled back to tie the score and eventually claimed a lead of 13-11. The Skyhawks knotted it up thanks to a Curry kill, but the Hardrockers got it right back and extended the lead to 19-15. Fort Lewis earned a kill from Shea to pull within one at 21-20, but South Dakota Mines ended the match on a 4-0 run to take a 25-20 fourth set.

"This match was a hard-fought battle. The team made great adjustments as the match progressed which is what I wanted to see," said head coach Giedre Tarnauskaite. "A few more adjustments and the outcome of that match would have been different. We'll focus on that in practice to get ready for next week's matches."

Up Next
Fort Lewis (7-9, 2-4 RMAC) will play in a mid-week match on Tuesday, October 10 on the campus of Western Colorado University (2-13, 0-5 RMAC). First serve is slated for 6:00 p.m. inside of Paul Wright Gym.

Fort Lewis is 20-24 all-time against Western Colorado and won last season's meeting in four sets at home. Hobie led the team with 14 kills and 14 digs, followed by Shea who recorded 13 kills.

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