PUEBLO, Colo. – The Fort Lewis College volleyball team improved to 3-3 on the year after sweeping play on the opening day of the Royce Cappis Invitational, highlighted by a four-set victory over previously unbeaten (RV) Minnesota Duluth.
Match One: Fort Lewis 3, (RV) Minnesota Duluth 1
Fort Lewis earned its second win of the season and its second victory over a nationally ranked program in as many years on Friday. The Skyhawks hit .206 for the match while limiting the Bulldogs to a .155 efficiency—their lowest mark of the season. Fort Lewis also turned in a season-best defensive effort with 64 digs and seven blocks.
Sophomore Alyx Daugherty was a highlight reel in the back row, going off for 29 digs—a mark that ranks fifth in program history for a four-set match. Senior Alina Nunez followed with 12 digs to go along with nine kills. Senior Jordan DeJesus led all players with 14 kills, followed by freshman Sydney Vogel (.421) and sophomore Caroline Munson (.588) with 11 apiece. Senior Ellie Ames added three aces, three blocks, five digs, and four kills. Sophomore Arianna Reyna distributed 24 assists, followed by senior Addie Garn with 20.
The Skyhawks came out strong in the opener, grabbing an 8-6 lead following a block by Nunez and Ames. Vogel split the block for a kill to tie the score later on, but Minnesota Duluth answered with service pressure to take a 13-10 lead. The Skyhawks continued to trail before a 6-0 scoring run with DeJesus at the service line gave Fort Lewis a 21-19 advantage. The Bulldogs tied the score with a kill, but Nunez answered with a pair to give the Skyhawks set point. Minnesota Duluth tied the score at 24 and 25 before earning a kill on the right side for its own set point. Vogel extended the set with a crafty swing down the line and eventually gave her team a 28-26 win with a tool off the block.
Ames gave Fort Lewis a narrow 4-3 lead in set two with a service ace, followed by six tied scores as the set moved to 13-13. DeJesus picked up her seventh kill for a 15-14 lead at the media timeout. The back-and-forth trend carried into the late points, with a trio of ties leading to a narrow 19-18 advantage for Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs maintained the lead but allowed the Skyhawks to stay close with a pair of unforced errors. DeJesus and Munson combined for kills to make it 22-22, leading to a timeout for Minnesota Duluth. Two more ties followed the break, but the Bulldogs took advantage of two attacking errors to capture a 26-24 win. The first two sets featured a combined 31 ties and 12 lead changes.
The third set was even through the opening points before a scoring run put the Bulldogs ahead by three. Minnesota Duluth maintained the lead until kills by Munson and DeJesus gave Fort Lewis a narrow 13-12 advantage. The Bulldogs managed to tie the score again, but Munson painted the line with another kill for a 15-14 lead at the media break. The teams played even from there, with seven straight combined kills leading to a 20-19 Minnesota Duluth lead. Fort Lewis picked up a side out thanks to a service error, followed by two attacking errors for a 22-20 edge. A block by DeJesus and Munson gave the Skyhawks set point, and Munson closed out the 25-22 win with her eighth kill.
The Bulldogs took the initial lead in the fourth set before the Skyhawks rattled off four points to go ahead 6-3. Minnesota Duluth chipped away to tie things up, but a 6-1 scoring run pushed Fort Lewis ahead 13-8. The Skyhawks' pin hitters continued to produce, earning four kills to extend the lead to 19-13. The Bulldogs followed with a pair of points, but Munson stalled the potential run with another blast from the middle. Minnesota Duluth pulled within four points late in the set, but Fort Lewis closed it out with kills by Averie Dembickie and Vogel to claim a 25-18 victory.
Match Two: Fort Lewis 3, Adelphi 0
Fort Lewis didn't have its most efficient offensive outing of the season, hitting .163, but the Skyhawks limited Adelphi to a .048 mark for the match. Fort Lewis also held the advantage in digs (46-41), assists (29-24), and aces (6-3).
Nunez led the team with 11 kills and 11 digs while hitting .364. Munson followed with seven kills and a .429 efficiency. Freshman Eloise Bearcomesout entered the match in set three and earned two kills on two swings. Garn dished out 12 assists, followed by 10 from Reyna.
Adelphi was error-prone early in the match, helping Fort Lewis build an 8-4 lead following an ace by DeJesus. The advantage moved to 10-5 when Daugherty added an ace and forced a timeout. The five-point spread held into the media break after Munson's cross-body kill gave the Skyhawks a 15-10 lead. Fort Lewis was forced into a timeout later on after a push by the Panthers narrowed the advantage to 19-17. Adelphi managed to tie the score at 20-all, but a side out and back-to-back points from Vogel gave Fort Lewis a 23-20 lead. Vogel and Munson combined for a block after a timeout to bring up set point, and Munson eventually sealed the 25-22 win with her third kill of the set.
Fort Lewis trailed early in set two but stayed within striking distance thanks to an ace from Reyna that made it 5-4. DeJesus sliced a kill down the line to tie things up at 9-9, kicking off a slew of tied scores before Fort Lewis found a two-point lead. The Panthers called a timeout in an attempt to slow the momentum, but Daugherty responded with an ace to give her team a 14-11 edge. The Skyhawks extended the lead but saw a call overturned in favor of Adelphi, making it a 19-16 score. Fort Lewis continued to lead but saw the difference dwindle to just two points, forcing a timeout with the score at 21-19. The closing points featured extended rallies and an untimely attacking error by the Panthers as the Skyhawks secured a 25-21 win.
Three Skyhawks contributed kills to begin the third set, including a smart shot out of the middle by Munson to make it 6-3. Fort Lewis kept rolling with a 7-0 scoring run to build a dominant 14-5 lead. A kill from the right side by Nunez made the score 18-7, followed by a Panthers attacking error for the match's largest lead. Caleigh Sommers used the block for a kill, followed by another attacking error to bring up match point. Adelphi added one more point with a swing on the right side but surrendered its 20th attacking error of the night to close out a 25-11 Fort Lewis victory.
Up Next
Fort Lewis (3-3) plays two more matches tomorrow, beginning with a 10:15 a.m. first serve against Florida Tech. The Skyhawks wrap up nonconference play against host CSU Pueblo at 5 p.m.
