GUNNISON, Colo.  Timing was everything Friday night at Paul Wright Gym as visiting New Mexico Highlands University registered just the right amount of timely point runs to steal a 3-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference volleyball victory from host Western Colorado.

THE ESSENTIALS
Final score: N.M. Highlands def. Western, 3-1 (25-19, 25-20, 21-25, 25-20)
Records: Western 3-21 (2-15 RMAC), NMHU 7-18 (4-13)
Location: Paul Wright Gym, Gunnison, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was never one hitting error or one Cowgirls perfect attack. Four competitive sets, that saw a total of 19 tie scores and 9 lead changes, each turned on brief spurts that came at different times in each set.
• Western trailed by only two points, 12-10, in the opening set when Highlands managed to build a six-point cushion (17-11). The Mountaineers drew back within three at 19-16 but the match ended with a six-point lead for the Cowgirls.
• The second set could have gone either way as it registered knotted scores nine times and the lead flipped six times. The final tie was at 20-20, after which Highlands embarked on a timely 5-0 run to win the set and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
• Western was the team that enjoyed the timely run in the third set, breaking out of a 10-10 tie to build a 16-11 advantage. The Mountaineers never trailed after that and, though NMHU clawed back within two at 22-20, finished off the set with a four-point 25-21 win to halve the deficit on the match scoreboard.
• The fourth and deciding set saw Highlands open up a five-point lead early (7-2), build the cushion to seven (13-6), then hang on for a 25-20 match-clinching win in a set that experienced the fewest ties (one) and lead changes (one).

DATA POINTS

• Elizabeth Rupprecht equaled a season high in digs with 18 against the Cowgirls. She posted the same figure early in the season, but reached that peak in a five-set win compared to Friday's four-setter.
• Fellow senior Emily Mangone tied for match-high honors on the attack with 12 kills, sharing the honor with Highlands' Terayah Stukes. Mangone set a new single-season career high with her total, reaching 211 for the season.
• Caroline Parker's 10 kills pushed her past her previous single-season career mark (138), changing that new personal record to 140 kills in a season.
• The Mountaineers' two setters, Hailee Martinez and Lexi Wilmoth, continue to vie for the set assists lead on the program's stat sheet. Martinez finished the night with 22 to raise her season total to 396, while Wilmoth doled out 19, lifting her season total to 384.
• The Cowgirls had only three more kills in the match (49-46) than did the Mountaineers. And the hitting percentage difference, .171 to .143, was neglible.
• A 6-2 advantage in service aces helped Highlands, but Western's 7.0-5.0 advantage in blocks made up for some of that difference. Randi Wellhoefer led all players at the net defensively, adding five block assists to one solo block.

UP NEXT
Western closes out the 2022 campaign Saturday at home against visiting Adams State University. The RMAC match will be the final one for four seniors – Elyse Fitzpatrick, Mangone, Jordyn Todd, and Rupprecht – who will be celebrated prior to the Senior Night match.