2 Colorado schools climb over Eagles in 3 sets

The Eagles fell to 5-9 in the RMAC and 6-17 overall after losing in three sets to nationally ranked No. 13 Colorado School of Mines Friday, and the Cougars of Colorado Christian University Saturday.
Mines is 11-2 in the RMAC and 17-5 overall. They beat the Eagles 25-15, 25-20 and 25-19. The Eagles had several errors throughout the game, logging five in the first set, six in the second and five in the third compared to the eight total errors of Mines.
Head Coach Riann Mullis said that despite the tense situation, she tries to focus on the good things and the team’s progression, and that helps her remain calm throughout the game.
Set No. 1 was close during the first eight points, but after Mines pulled ahead with a three-point lead 11-8, the Eagles struggled to catch up. In blocks of three to four points, the Colorado Mines pulled ahead quickly from there and the Eagles struggled to stop those runs until they got the ball at 22-13.
During the second set, the Eagles stepped up their game but CSM got an early four-point lead to put the score at 9-5 and the Eagles struggled to regain those points. They held their position, four points behind Mines for the remainder of the set. An attack error by Rudy Leasau, senior of LaMesa, California, gave the second set to the Mines.
The Eagles held the lead at the beginning of the third set but with a tied score of 4-4, CSM again pulled ahead and held the lead for the remainder of the set. They continued to push the score and expand that lead but the Eagles continued to fight. They were down 22-15 when CSC started to regain momentum, but a kill from Colorado Mines’ Alanna Winfield, senior of Houston, Texas, ended the set and the game.
Mullis encouraged the women to “focus on what they have control over and play together. When you’re under pressure like that you have to lean on your teammates.”
Alia Brennan, senior of Chadron, led in kills with 11; Gaby Varela, junior of Dorado, Puerto Rico, and Leasau followed with nine and eight, respectively. Setter Madison Webb, sophomore of Loveland, Colorado, logged 30 assists.
Defensively, Emily Bruce, junior of Centerton, Arkansas, logged 12 digs followed by Leasau with 10 and Ashton Burditt, freshman of Spearfish, South Dakota, with eight.
Despite the loss, the Eagles won’t be punished specifically in practice. Mullis said sometimes specific players are held accountable for their mistakes, but overall, all things in practice are focused toward the progression of the team, not the punishment of a loss.
“We really respect their (Colorado Mines) team and their winning record but I’m excited to have another chance to compete against them and I think it will be better because we know the team,” Mullis said.
Against CCU, the Cougars took advantage of a slow start by the Eagles, winning set one 25-18. The Eagles managed to play the Cougars closer in the second and third sets, but lost 25-21 and 25-23, respectively.
While the third set looked to be coming to an end, down 22-14, the Eagles managed to score five straight points to make the score 22-19. Later in the set, CSC fought off three straight match points, before Sophia Proano, redshirt junior of Thornton, Colorado, got her final of 13 kills to finish the match for the Cougars.
“If it wasn’t for a couple small errors, we would’ve been able to win the third set,” Stephanie Wilson, senior of Albuquerque, New Mexico, said. “It was still nice to see us fight back and make the set a lot closer than it would’ve been.”
Offensively for the Eagles, Brennan and Leasau, led the team in kills with 11 each. Brennan has led the Eagles in kills in each of the last three games. Varela and Wilson each added seven.
Webb provided 33 assists for the Eagles, three more than her total the night before.
Defensively, Brennan led the team at the net with five blocks. She was followed by Leasau and Wilson who each added two.
The Eagles’ libero, Bruce, accounted for 26 of the team’s 69 digs. Leasau added 13, while Varela added nine.
For Colorado Christian, Proano led the Cougar attack with 13 kills, followed closely by Hope Baldrica, sophomore of Ashland, Oregon, who added 10.
Kylee Wurster, sophomore of Lincoln, led both teams in assists with 41. Taylor Sturms, senior of Lone Tree, Colorado, led the RMAC’s leading team in digs with 17.
The Eagles will conclude their season with two straight weekends of home matchups. The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology Hardrockers of Rapid City, South Dakota, come to town Friday, while the Eagles play the Black Hills State University Yellow Jackets of Spearfish, South Dakota, Saturday.
“It will be nice to finish out our season at home,” Wilson said. “Not being on the road gives us more time to practice and focus on the upcoming games. Black Hills beat us in Spearfish, so it will be nice to have another chance at them on our home court.”
The Hardrockers are ranked last in the conference with a 1-24 overall record, 0-14 in RMAC play.
The Yellow Jackets are No. 11 in RMAC standings, right behind CSC, with a record of 6-16, 4-10 in the RMAC.
With only two weeks left in the regular season, CSC is ranked No. 10 in the RMAC, two places out of post-season contention.
First serve for both games is set at 6 p.m.