Rangers Start Strong and Hit .354 to Defeat Fort Lewis 3-0 in the First Round of the RMAC Tournament

Kearney, Neb.: The five-seed Regis Rangers used superb hitting and good defense to dispense of the four-seed Fort Lewis Skyhawks in three sets, 25-12, 25-19, 26-24 in the first round of the RMAC Tournament.  Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Keiter helped lead the Rangers to a .354 hitting percentage with a career-high 14 kills.

With the win, Regis improved to 17-11 overall which is the most wins since the 2001 team went 24-9.  The Rangers held Fort Lewis (18-10) to just a .168 hitting percentage and had 58 kills compared to just 30 for the Skyhawks.

Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Howe led the way with 17 kills offensively.  The Second Team All-RMAC selection also had a career-high seven digs to go along with two blocks.  Keiter and fellow sophomore right side hitter Kerry Grady each chipped in with 14 kills.  Keiter and Grady both hit over .400 helping the Rangers to their second best hitting percentage of the season.

Sophomore setter Devin Eckhardt posted her 11th double-double of the season and her seventh out of the last eight matches with 44 assists and 13 digs.  Freshman libero Cassidee Young had a match-high 18 digs, while Keiter had 10 digs to outpace the Skyhawks by 18 digs.

Chelsea Flaming led Fort Lewis with 14 kills and Katherine Sumrall led their defense with 13 digs.

Regis will now move into the semi-finals of the RMAC Tournament and will take on the winner of #1 seed Nebraska-Kearney and #8 seed Adams State on Saturday at 7:30 PM.

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