GUNNISON, Colo.  Western Colorado, on Senior night at Paul Wright Gym, rallied late in the final two sets but visiting Adams State University was able to stave off those challenges in a 3-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference volleyball win over the Mountaineers on Saturday evening.

Senior Elizabeth Rupprecht, the lone senior on the Western squad, was honored in a ceremony before the Mountaineers' final home match of the season.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Adams State def. Western Colorado, 3-1 (22-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-21)
Records: Western 5-19 overall (2-10 RMAC), Adams State 8-16 (4-8)
Location: Paul Wright Gym, Gunnison, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was a tooth and nail battle in the opening set with Western outlasting the Grizzlies. The largest lead in the set was only by three points, twice by Western, the match was tied 10 times, and the lead changed hands six times.
• The Mountaineers went up 24-21 on one of Maggie Olson's match-best 17 kills, but Adams State fought off one set point only to have Addison Lynn finish things off with one of her seven kills in the match.
• The two teams followed a similar script through the early points of the second set, but the Grizzlies broke free from an 11-8 lead by putting together a 9-2 run that proved fateful for Western.
• The Mountaineers were down by as many as nine points (16-7) in the third set, and when trailing 22-14 put together a nice run of their own, scoring six of the next eight points, to pull back with three at 24-21. Adams State took the next point, however, to claim the set and inch ahead 2-1 in the set.
• A nearly identical start to the next set had Western trailing by 10 at 16-6, but it cut into that deficit and, when trailing 22-15, went on another 6-2 spurt to challenge the Grizzlies only to have the visitors score the final point of the set to earn the match victory.

NET NOTES

• Olson's kills total included a five-kill opening set and six in the final set, one in which she finished without an attacking error and posted a .375 attacking percentage.
• Also reaching double digits in kills was Seyun Park with 12. Both Olson and Park also earned one block assist on defense.
• Rupprecht and Lynn combined for half of Western's digs on the night (70), Lynn tying for match-high honors with 18 and Rupprecht coming up with 17. Lynn's total equaled her season high.
• Both teams played well at the net defensively, ASU finishing with eight blocks and Western with six. Kyra Kidd had four block assists for Western and Lynn added a solo block to a pair of block assists. For the Grizzlies, Natalie Gallegos and Katie Bauer each rose up for four block assists.

UP NEXT
Western will close out its season on the road, heading to the Front Range over the weekend to take on Metropolitan State University Denver on Friday, then Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo. on Saturday.