Rangers Drop First Set to Western New Mexico but Rally to 3-1 Win; Improve to 7-1 in RMAC Action

Denver, Colo.: The Ranger volleyball team dropped the first set to Western New Mexico in tonights Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matchup before taking the next three to defeat the Mustangs 3-1.  Junior Jessica Howe helped lead the charge with a season-high 19 kills while hitting .351 for the match.

Regis (9-7, 7-1 RMAC) remains in second place in the RMAC East Division but it looked iffy after the first set.  Western New Mexico (7-9, 5-3 RMAC) tied Regis at 6-6 before going on a 7-2 run to take a 13-8 lead.  The Rangers got as close as 16-14 after a Howe kill, but the Mustangs responded and was able to take the first set 25-20.

The Rangers took the second set 25-16 after the Rangers finished the set with a 15-9 run.  Howe and junior Erin Anderson each had three kills in the run.

The third set saw the Rangers go on another run to blow open the set.  With the score 13-11 after back-to-back kills by Western New Mexico's Jordan Johnston, the Rangers then turned to their All-American as she pounded home three of the next four points for Regis helping the Rangers close out the set with a 12-4 run.

The fourth set was never in jeopardy as Regis opened up a 10-3 lead early and never looked back in defeating the Mustangs 25-9.

Regis again played good defense in limiting the Mustangs to hitting just .084 for the match.  Regis also had nine blocks and had 20 (66-46) more digs than the visitors.

Following Howe in double figure kills was Anderson and sophomore Lyz Kann, each with 10 kills.  Kann had some kind of hitting night with just one error and hitting at a .409 clip.  She also had four blocks including one solo.

Juniors Kerry Grady and Sarah Keiter chipped in with eight and six kills respectively.

Three Rangers were in double figures in digs led by freshman Jordan Hughes and Keiter each with 12.  Freshman Katie Hudencial had another solid game with 10 digs.

Junior Devin Eckhardt just missed her fourth double-double of the season and her 25th of her career with 45 assists and nine digs.  She also led the Rangers with five total blocks including one solo.

Just to show how well the Rangers played after set one; they tied Western New Mexico at 17 points in the first set, after that the Rangers outscored them 53-29 over the next three sets.

Regis will now play on Thursday, October 10th against Mesa State at the Regis Fieldhouse at 7:00 p.m.

Click here for boxscore.