DURANGO, Colo. – The Fort Lewis College volleyball team made the most of its long-awaited home debut Friday night, earning a 3-0 sweep of Chadron State College inside Whalen Gymnasium.
The Skyhawks took the match by scores of 25-22, 25-15 and 25-17 to improve to 6-5 overall and 1-2 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play. Chadron State dropped to 5-6 overall and 0-3 in league play.
Fort Lewis hit .244 for the match while holding Chadron State to a .115 clip. The Skyhawks held advantages in kills (45-32), service aces (7-1), blocks (4-1), assists (44-29) and digs (64-61).
Senior Alina Nunez led all players with 14 kills while hitting .387 and added five digs and a solo block. Senior Jordan DeJesus followed with 10 kills, six digs and two service aces, while sophomore Sydney Vogel chipped in seven kills.
Sophomore Alyx Daugherty anchored the back row with a match-high 21 digs. Junior Addie Garn and sophomore Arianna Reyna split the setting duties with 19 and 16 assists, respectively, while Reyna added 10 digs for a double-double.
Chadron State jumped out to the early advantage in the opening set, using a 5-0 run to turn a 5-5 score into a 10-5 lead. The Eagles remained in front at 14-7 before Fort Lewis began to chip away. A DeJesus kill followed by a Garn kill and DeJesus service ace trimmed the deficit to 14-10. Chadron State rebuilt its advantage to 19-13 and remained ahead 21-16 before the Skyhawks caught fire. Back-to-back kills from Caroline Munson started a 7-0 run that included a Garn ace, a block from DeJesus and Munson, and a DeJesus kill to give Fort Lewis its first lead since the early stages at 23-21. DeJesus added another kill for set point before Nunez finished off the 25-22 comeback.
Fort Lewis wasted little time establishing control in the second set. Nunez opened the frame with a kill, and the Skyhawks raced out to a 5-1 lead. The advantage quickly ballooned to 10-2 behind kills from Nunez, Caleigh Sommers, Vogel and Ellie Ames as well as an ace from Reyna. Fort Lewis continued to pull away, with an Nunez ace making it 12-3 before kills from Ames and DeJesus helped the Skyhawks reach 16-7. The Eagles never managed to get closer than seven points the rest of the way. Ames added an ace during a late push, and Munson closed the set with a kill for the 25-15 win.
The Skyhawks continued their efficient play in the third set, hitting .342 with 15 kills and just two errors. After the teams traded points early, Vogel and Ames helped Fort Lewis build a 6-3 advantage. An Ames service ace extended the lead to 9-4 before kills from Reyna and DeJesus pushed the margin to 11-5. The Skyhawks then broke the set open with a 5-0 run highlighted by a DeJesus ace and blocks from Sommers and Munson and Nunez to take a commanding 16-6 lead.
Nunez and Ames contributed kills as Fort Lewis extended the advantage to 21-10. Chadron State made a late push, but Vogel put down a kill for a 23-13 edge before Munson brought up match point. Freshman Kiya Wilson then delivered the final kill of the night to seal the 25-17 win and the sweep.
Fort Lewis returns to Whalen Gymnasium on Saturday to take on Regis University at 3 p.m.
