Gunnison, Colo.,   The Western Colorado Volleyball team takes down the Academy of Art by a final score of 3-1.

WESTERN COLORADO VS ACADEMY OF ART 

The Mountaineers earned an early advantage going up 3-0. The Urban Knights snuck a kill in but WCU's discipline defense and outstanding offense pushed them to a 7-1 edge. Scores were traded by the respective teams until the Mountaineers went on a four-point run 13-4. ART U saw another kill but by that time WCU was up 18-6. A little hiccup for the Mountaineers gave the Urban Knights a chance as they recorded ten points compared to the Mountaineers one 19-16. The set came close but Western Colorado kept pushing to take set one 25-20.  

Set two was a nail-biter but ultimately won by the Academy of Art. An attack error by the Urban Knights allowed the Mountaineers to get the first point on the board. ART U jumped to a 3-1 lead. WCU caught a break as ART U made two errors. Moving ahead, seeing the score at 14-13 in favor of ART U, they added two, holding their lead. Although Western witnessed kills from sophomore Kyra Kidd and seniors Seyun Park and Kennedy Kelly, they would still fall short 25-22. Making the overall game score 1-1.  

Sophomore Chinaru Inoue set up junior Pelin Aksoy for the start of the third 1-0. The following five points were traded seeing a tie score 3-3. ART U earned their first lead of the set 5-3. A kill by Park cut that lead to one 5-4. Two-by-two points were added to the respective team's score, putting the game at 12-10 in favor of the Urban Knights. ART U with an error and Kelly with two aces put the Mountaineers back at the top 13-12. WCU did not give up their edge, kill after kill they took set three 25-16. 2-1 Mountaineer advantage. 

Kidd smashed the ball for a 1-0 start. A lead change as ART U took a 2-1 edge. A kill by Kennedy tied the score at two a-piece. Another lead change as Aksoy slammed a kill 4-3. The lead changes went back-and-forth five more times until ART U went on a small run to go up four 19-15. A kill and ace by Aksoy alongside two kills by Park, all assisted by senior Nur Turkmenoglu, tied the game at 19-19. The Urban Knights won the draw 20-19 but the next two scores were awarded to the Mountaineers 21-20. Alternating points, going past the regulated twenty-five, the game was tied 26-26. A huge kill from red shirt freshman Grace Helzer lite up the gym. An attack error by ART U ended the match. The Mountaineers won the set 28-26 and the game 3-1.  

The Mountaineers offense had 51 total kills... Park (17), Kelly (11), Kidd (7), Turkmenoglu (5), Helzer (4), junior Olive Rolseth and Aksoy (3). Turkmenoglu lead the team with 40 assists. Inoue led in digs with 21 followed by freshman Grace Devall with nine. Alongside their kills, both Kidd and Turkmenoglu assisted on four blocks. 

WCU moves to an overall record of 2-6 while ART U drops to an overall record of 1-6. 

UP NEXT  

Western Colorado is back in action on Saturday September 14 at 7 p.m. as they take on Texas A&M University-Kingsville on day two of the Mountaineer Classic. For more information visit gomountaineers.com.