Box Score Colorado College advanced to the regional semifinals of the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championships with a 15-25, 25-21, 25-14, 25-22 victory over No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Friday afternoon in Dallas.
 
CC improved to 28-5 on the season and made program history by recording a win over the highest-ranked opponent during head coach Rick Swan's 19-year tenure.
 
The Tigers face No. 7 Southwestern University for the fourth time this season on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. CT. The Pirates advanced to the second round with a five-set win over No. 19 University of La Verne earlier in the day.
 
Senior Abbe Holtze led Colorado College with 16 kills and 14 digs for her 18th double-double of the season. With her third dig of the match, the outside hitter climbed into fifth place on CC's career list for career digs. She now owns 1,607 and needs only 12 more to move up to fourth place.
 
Freshman outside hitter Jordan Mullen came up big at the net for the Tigers with 14 kills and a career-high five blocks. Freshman setter Lizzy Counts earned her 16th double-double of the season with 44 assists for a team-high and 11 digs.
 
CMS (23-4) began the match hitting a .356 attack percentage in the first set on 18 kills as Colorado College had a slow start offensively with only eight kills in 34 attempts. The Stags took the early lead with a 25-15 first-set victory.
 
The Tigers came back in the second set hitting 18 kills to earn a 25-21 victory. CC held a 20-18 edge when freshman right-side hitter Haley Harris hit a kill to start a 5-3 run with Holtze earning set point on a kill of her own.
 
Colorado College commanded the third set with a game-best .385 attack percentage on 12 kills in 26 attempts with just a pair of errors. Mullen struck for a kill after the Tigers held a 9-8 lead to ignite an 8-1 run which handed CC a 17-9 advantage. The Tigers scored eight of the final 13 points to take a 25-14 victory in the third set.
 
The fourth set was tied late at 21-21 when back-to-back kills by Holtze and freshman middle hitter Marguerite Spaethling gave CC a 23-21 edge. CMS took a timeout and earned a kill from Nicole Kirkhof to cut the Tigers lead to 23-22, but a Stags' hitting error and a block by Mullen and Spaethling supplied CC with the 25-22 victory and the match.
 
Colorado College earned 11 blocks on the day, which was the 10th time this season that the Tigers have earned 10 or more blocks in a match. Spaethling and sophomore middle hitter Myca Steffey-Bean helped lead the team with five blocks each.
 
Steffey-Bean and Harris earned eight kills apiece to aid the offense, while freshman libero Anna Gurolnick earned 11 digs in the back row.
 
CMS was led by Kirkhof with 18 kills and 19 digs. Margaux Arnston added 11 kills, while Crystal Anderson contributed with 10. Mikena Werner led the back row with 26 digs.