Top-seeded Colorado College advanced to the second round of its NCAA Division III Volleyball Regional by defeating Hardin-Simmons University, 3-1, in opening-round action Friday afternoon in Thousand Oaks, Calif.
It was the first of six big steps the Tigers hope to take in pursuit of the program's first-ever national championship.
Their next hurdle comes at 3:30 p.m. (PT) Saturday, when they meet Occidental College on the campus of California Luthern University. Winner advances to Sunday's regional final, one of eight across the country.
Occidental needed five sets to oust Pacific Lutheran University in the first match of the day, rallying to beat the Lutes 25-17, 24-26, 23-25, 25-17, 15-8.
Colorado College got of to a strong start in its match, holding the Cowgirls to a -.094 hitting percentage (six kills and nine errors) while winning the first set 25-16.
Despite CC's 17 kills in the second set, Hardin-Simmons bounced back with a 25-23 victory to knot the match at one set apiece.
The Tigers struck back, hitting a .357 attack percentage and regaining the lead with a 25-20 win in the third set, then finished HSU off in a 25-18 finale. CC held the Cowgirls to a .000 hitting percentage (nine kills and nine errors) in the fourth set. For the match, Hardin-Simmons posted a combined .052 hitting percentage with four players in negative territory.
Senior duo
Meredith Ballard and
Amy Schornack fueled CC offensively with 12 kills apiece. Schornack also led the team with 36 assists for her first double-double of the weekend. She narrowly missed a triple-double with nine digs.
Junior
Laura Goldsmith also recorded a double-double with 10 kills and a team-high 15 digs, pacing the CC defense. Freshmen
Kristen Liberty and
Logan Savidge picked up 13 and 10 digs, respectively, to aid the back row.
Madison Reyes led the attack for Hardin-Simmons with 15 kills. She added 10 digs.
The Tigers, champions of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, improved to 32-6 overall for the season. Hardin-Simmons finished with a 29-6 record.
