The Colorado College volleyball team opened the 2023 campaign with a pair of matches in the Pikes Peak Challenge.
 
Unfortunately, the Tigers dropped both matches, one to Augustana in five sets 25-17, 25-17, 24-26, 15-25, 15-10), then to UW-Platteville in four (27-25, 13-25, 25-22, 25-21).
 
In the opener against Augustana, the Tigers roared back from two sets down to force a fifth, but couldn't pull off the miraculous comeback.
 
Sophomore Carolyn Dormady led CC with 15 kills, while freshman Brooke Brilliant had 12 and had a .300 hitting percentage in her collegiate debut. Honorable mention All-American senior Jenny Jenks and junior Annie Steger posted 22 and 19 assists, respectively, while freshman libero Meghan Gannon recorded a team-high 23 digs in her first career match.
 
Emily Schipper and Kira Nelson led the Vikings with 14 and 10 kills, respectively, while Amelie Baehr-Ross had 36 assists.  
 
In the nightcap against UW-Platteville, Dormady once again led the way with 18 kills, followed by junior Delaney Rach with 11. The Tigers hit at a .238 percentage, compared to just .186 for the Pioneers, who rallied from a 24-22 deficit in the first set to win 27-25.
 
The Tigers looked like they were ready to roll the rest of the way after winning the second set, 25-13, but the Pioneers closed out the match with a pair of close sets.
 
Steger had 18 aces and Jenks collected 17.
 
The Tigers return to action with another pair of matches on Saturday, starting at 11:30 a.m., against Wartburg College. In Reid Arena.