Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Senior Abbe Holtze and junior Glenna Yancey swung big to help No. 5 Colorado College remain undefeated and earn victories over No. 14 University of Texas at Dallas and Whitman College on Saturday during the final day of the CC Invitational.
 
The Tigers improved to 8-0 on the season after going undefeated on the weekend to earn the tournament championship with a 4-0 record.
 
"The team did awesome," said Holtze, who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player for the second week in a row. "We came out energized and we fought hard. We wanted to show them what Colorado College volleyball was all about."
 
The outside hitter, who led the team with a combined 25 kills and added 30 digs in the two victories, pounded down 16 kills and picked up 18 digs to earn her third double-double of the season and help the Tigers beat ranked the Comets, 3-1m in the tournament finale.
 
Yancey pounded down a career-high 15 kills and had a hand in four blocks to earn all-tournament team honors. The middle hitter hit a team-best .520 attack percentage with just two errors in 25 attempts against UTD.
 
"Dallas is a really good and competitive team, and they played really tough," said head coach Rick Swan. "I was very proud of our kids and the way they stepped up.
 
"We got great production out of our middle hitters and Abbe Holtze was just steady all around."
 
Freshman middle hitter Marguerite Spaethling, who also was an all-tournament selection for the second week in a row, led the team with seven blocks and added nine kills to aid the Tigers at the net.
 
UT-Dallas came from behind in the first set, after CC took a 21-16 lead, when Michelle Toro hit a kill that helped spark a 6-1 run to tie the set at 22-22. The Tigers took the lead when Holtze slammed down a kill, but the Comets answered with a 3-0 run to take the first set, 25-23.
 
Colorado College struck back in the second set, holding UT-Dallas to a -.045 hitting percentage on 10 kills in 44 attempts with 12 errors to earn the 25-19 victory and tie the match.
 
The Tigers carried their momentum into the third and fourth sets, winning 25-18 and 25-22, respectively, to hand the Comets (5-1) their first loss of the season.
 
"I think it's important for us to be challenged by other highly-ranked teams," Holtze said. "Some of the teams we played this weekend ranked high in the west region and nationally, so when it comes to NCAA selection, it's important to win those games."
 
In the first match of the day, Colorado College dominated in a three-set victory against Whitman, 25-20, 25-14, 25-14. The Tigers forced Whitman into hitting 23 errors with just 28 kills in 97 attempts for a meager .052 hitting percentage.
 
Holtze led the team against Whitman with 12 digs, nine kills, four blocks and two service aces. Yancey added eight kills on a .583 hitting percentage with only one error in 12 attempts, while also having a hand on four blocks in the front row.
 
Senior Rebecca Watson and freshman Lizzy Counts split time orchestrating the offense dishing out a combined 34 assists each in the pair of victories. Counts also picked up her third and fourth double-double of the season with 10 assists and 10 digs against Whitman to start the day, and had a team-best 24 assists and 21 digs to lead the team over UT-Dallas.
 
"I think we learned a lot tonight about ourselves and what we are capable of doing," said Swan. "We have to continue to get better, but it was a great start to the season and we are really proud of what our kids did tonight."
 
Colorado College begins Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference action on Sept. 16-17. The Tigers will host Austin College on Friday at 6 p.m. in Reid Arena.
 
"We're excited to start conference play next week and to get that rolling," said Holtze. "It's always really good competition and we're excited to play."