DURANGO, Colo. – Skyhawks volleyball kept its momentum rolling with a commanding sweep of Black Hills State University on Friday night, extending the team's winning streak to six matches and opening Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play on a high note.
The win pushed Fort Lewis to 7-1 overall—the program's best start since 2006—and 1-0 in league play. Black Hills State fell to 3-6 on the year and 0-1 in the RMAC.
Defensively, the Skyhawks were stout, holding the Yellow Jackets to a .084 hitting percentage while racking up a season-high 74 digs in a three-set match. Although Black Hills State tallied 10 blocks to Fort Lewis' three, the Skyhawks controlled the service line with seven aces to their credit.
Senior Ella Butler and freshman Cambria Freymuth led the offense with eight kills apiece, while senior Ryli Kalahiki added seven kills on 16 error-free swings (.438). Sophomore Addie Garn handed out 16 assists and freshman Arianna Reyna chipped in 15. At libero, freshman Alyx Daugherty finished with a team-high 17 digs in two sets at libero, with Freymuth adding 11.
Fort Lewis jumped out quickly in the opening set, capitalizing on Yellow Jacket miscues to grab a 5-1 lead. Daugherty and Butler each landed aces to stretch the advantage, and the Skyhawks sealed a 25-20 win on back-to-back errors from Black Hills State.
The second set was a back-and-forth battle, with the Yellow Jackets riding a late surge to go ahead 21-16. But Daugherty turned the tide with an eight-point service run, and Kalahiki closed it out with a kill for the 25-22 comeback win.
The Skyhawks stayed in control in the third, sparked by a pair of kills from freshman Caroline Munson. Reyna added two aces to extend the margin to 14-9, and a 6-1 run capped by kills from Butler and junior Alina Nunez stretched it to 20-11. After a brief push from Black Hills State, Kalahiki delivered the final blows with back-to-back kills to clinch the sweep, 25-19.
Fort Lewis (7-1, 1-0 RMAC) returns to Whalen Gymnasium on Saturday for a 6:00 p.m. matchup with South Dakota Mines (1-8, 1-0 RMAC), which is coming off a sweep of Western Colorado.
