Gunnison, Colo.,   The Western Colorado Volleyball team splits on day one of the Mountaineer Classic. They fall in a close game against Washburn University by a score of 3-0 then take down Western New Mexico University in five. 

WESTERN COLORADO VS WASHBURN

Western Colorado recorded the first two points of the set after kills by sophomore Kyra Kidd and junior Pelin Aksoy, both assisted by senior Nur Turkmenoglu. Washburn answered back with two kills of their own to see a tie game 2-2. Points back-and-forth paired with numerous lead changes until Washburn got their greatest lead of the set 19-15. An attack error on WU cut the deficit to three 19-16. The Ichabod recorded four more points compared to the Mountaineer's two, to see the score at 24-18 and set point. A kill by Washburn ended the first. 

Another close set saw WCU with the first advantage of the game 1-0. A service error gave WU their first score (1-1). Small runs for each team increased the scores. Washburn earned a large gap in the score when they scored their nineteenth point, putting them up by eight 19-11. WU recorded their twenty-first point, but an error by WU, senior Seyun Park smashing two kills, and a service ace by sophomore Kacee Garcia kept the Mountaineers alive 21-17. As Western Colorado kept fighting, Washburn answered back taking set two 25-19.  

Turkmenoglu kicked off the third set with a service ace to make it 1-0. Shortly after, WU took a quick 5-2 edge. Ichabod attack error stop their run, awarding the serve to the Mountaineers. Kills and errors were traded, and Washburn pulled away 22-13. An error by WU and two kills by senior Kennedy Kelly put WCU down six 22-16. The ichabod won on a service ace, took the third set 25-16 and the match 3-0.  

Aksoy paved the way on offense with 8 kills, followed by Kelly with 7 then Park with 5. Turkmenoglu finished with 25 assists and 7 digs. Sophomores Garcia and Inoue Chinaru each collected 10 digs. Sophomore Kyra Kidd got her hands high, assisting on three blocks. 

WESTERN COLORADO VS WESTERN NEW MEXICO 

WCU ready for action in game two against WNMU. Turkmenoglu kicked the scoring off by serving an ace. Following that, she assisted on a kill by Aksoy 2-0. The Huskies earned two in a row to tie the score. Scores traded one by one, two by two, three by three eventually seeing a tie score at sixteen a-piece. The Mountaineers put three away for a 19-16 edge. The Huskies kept attacking but they were no match for the Mountaineers offense. WCU took set one 25-20.  

A competitive set two was the longest battle of the match. Points were had by the respective teams, one after the other. A close set till the very end but WNMU would win by two, ending the set 25-23 and seeing the overall match stand at 1-1.  

The Huskies smashed the ball for the first point of the third but the Mountaineers with three consecutive points took a 3-1 lead. On the attack, WNMU came back and stretched their lead (7-3). WCU answered back to tie the game at 15 a-piece. The Mountaineers took their first advantage of the set on their nineteenth point (19-18). The set went past the twenty-fifth point. Both teams traded points until the Huskies put down two in a row 30-28. 

With Western New Mexico up two sets to one, Western Colorado needed to win the fourth to stay in the game. The Mountaineers were down by seven in the middle of the set. Regrouping, Western Colorado took advantage of every opportunity they got. They played exceptionally well on both sides of the ball which resulted in them gaining the lead 20-19. An attack error in three kills in a row by sophomore Olive Rolseth (2) and Kidd, WCU was one point away from taking the set. The Huskies sneaked in two more scores but a hard hit by Rolseth put the set away and the game at 2-2.  

WCU took the first point of set five. A little hiccup on the offensive put WNMU up 9-3. The Mountaineers weren't backing down, kept pushing and put away eight points in a row, taking the lead 11-9. The Western Colorado Offense was no match for WNMU as a sweet kill by Park put the game to an end 15-10. WCU earned their first dub of the year 3-2.  

Park (21 kills) and Kidd (17 kills) finished with season highs. Turkmenoglu ended game two with 53 assists and eight digs. Garcia and Inoue tied for 19 digs.  

With the conclusion of today's games, Western Colorado sees an overall record of 1-6, Washburn 4-0 and Western New Mexico 2-4.  

UP NEXT

The Mountaineers are back in action on Saturday September 14 at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. as they take on Academy of Art University and Texas A&M University-Kingsville, respectively.  

For more information visit gomountaineers.com.