Rick Swan hopes he caught an accurate glimpse of what his 2013 team is made of on Saturday.

Off to a 4-0 start after claiming the championship at their own season-opening Colorado College Invitational, the Tigers looked adversity square in the face and prevailed.

"To play a match like that this early in the season is great," Swan said after a come-from-behind 20-25, 27-25, 19-25, 25-16, 15-11 victory over previously undefeated Augsburg College. "They're a strong team, very athletic, and made us work for every point. They didn't give us anything easy. We had to work for everything."

The visiting Auggies, who had beaten three previous opponents handily in the two-day tournament, were one big play away from seizing complete command against host CC. After winning Game 1 by a 25-20 count, they took a 24-22 lead in Game 2 and appeared on track to steamroll to the weekend title. 

No dice. Not in our house.

Colorado College, sparked by a pair of big kills apiece from freshman Abbe Holtze and junior Kristen Liberty, rallied to win four of the next five points and knot the contest at 1-1. 

Holtze, who didn't play at all in the first set, came off the bench to record 17 kills in the match – one fewer than sophomore Emily Phillips, who paced the Tigers with 18. The two outside hitters also combined for 26 digs, including 15 by Philips.

Game 3 did not go well for the home team, which fell into a 21-11 hole before launching a futile rally. Swan, whose 500th match at the CC helm later Saturday ended with a quick 25-20, 25-17, 25-19 triumph against Pacific University, made some lineup changes that again reversed the tide. Then, after bouncing back to dominate Game 4, the Tigers recovered from a slow start to go on a late 10-2 run in Game 5 and finish off the visitors from Minneapolis.

"The turning point was Game 2," said Swan, who owns a .718 winning percentage (359-141) in his 16 seasons at Colorado College. "We had to win that one, and when when we did it gave us that little edge – the feeling that we would be OK."

The Auggies were led offensively by senior Colleen Ourada and sophomore Ashley Peper, who hammered down 21 and 18 kills, respectively. Both were named to the all-tournament team, along with Tigers Holtze, Phillips and sophomore setter Devon Lucero. Both Ourada and Peper had moved to the back row, however, midway through Game 5 when CC capitalized to make its final spurt.

Lucero's 58 assists in the match was one more than Augsburg's Emily McCourt. Both setters finished with 13 digs, a category in which Auggies senior Katelyn Berens led both teams with 42. Sophomore Sophie Merrifield had 27 for Colorado College.

Holtze and Phillips added 14 and 11 digs, respectively, against Pacific.

Final Team Standings
1-Colorado College (4-0); 2-Augburg College (3-1); 3-UMass Boston (2-2); 4-Central College (1-3); 5-Pacific University (0-4)
 
All-Tournament Team
Colleen Ourada (Sr. OH), Augsburg; Ashley Peper (Fr. RS), Augsburg; Hannah Welter (Jr. MH), Central; Abbe Holtz (Fr. OH), Colorado College; Devon Lucero (So. S), Colorado College; Emily Phillips (So. OH), Colorado College; Julia Murphy (Fr. MH), UMass Boston; Marie Rewick (So. OH), Pacific
MVP – Devon Lucero (So. S), Colorado College