GUNNISON, Colo. It's been almost five years to the day since Western Colorado defeated Colorado Christian University, but Saturday's Senior Night in Paul Wright Gym was special not only in presenting volleyball seniors
Kyra Kidd,
Sierra Long, and
Breanna Nohava with a 3-1 win – but also in earning the program's first win over the Cougars since a sweep on Nov. 6, 2021.
JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Western def. CCU, 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 13-25, 26-24)
Records: Western 11-15 overall (5-9 RMAC), CCU 13-11 (5-9)
Location: Paul Wright Gym, Gunnison, Colo.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Though the scores will still tight, Western had CCU out of sorts for most of the first two sets, keeping the Cougars off balance and forcing them to scramble through a pair of set losses.
- Western's best set on the attack of those opening sets was the second, when they clocked a .447 attack percentage, with only three attacking errors.
- Unfortunately, CCU finally put things together in the third set to avoid the sweep. It limited Western to just a .138 hitting percentage while rising to .464 for its best set of the night.
- The fourth set appeared to have a turning point when CCU's Brooklin Frazier registered a service ace to lift the Cougars into a three-point lead, 14-11, after nearly all of play beforehand had the teams separated by just one or two points.
- The momentum carried forward for the Cougars from that ace into a 17-12 advantage, but Western picked up a point on an attacking error then got a kill from Maggie Legg to pull back within three, at 17-14.
- CCU responded with a kill for an 18-14 lead, but the real turning point of the set – and the match – followed as Kidd pounded down a kill to ignite a 4-0 run that tied the score.
- Nohava and Page Oothoudt followed Kidd's kill with a point off their block, then Nohava knocked down a kill from her middle position, not once but twice, the second one evening the score at 18-18.
- The Cougars regained the lead on the next point fur Western wrested it away for the first time in the set with another Nohava kill, a block by Nohava and Legg, and then a block by Nohava and Olivia Moore, taking a 21-19 lead.
- CCU fought off a match point at 24-22 then tied it at 24-24, but Moore put down a kill followed by a kill from Emily Robins that completed the comeback for the set and the match victory.
COURT NOTES
- Nohava and Legg each finished with 14.5 points to lead the Mountaineers, getting to those totals in slightly different manners. Legg registered a team-high 14 kills and had 1 block assist, while Nohava accumulated a match-best 9 block assists to go along with her 10 kills.
- Overall for the match, Western earned 13.0 blocks while the Cougars totaled just 2.0 blocks.
- The defense from libero Galatia Andrew as well as from Makaelah Paulino and Moore helped limit the Cougars to a .265 attack percentage. Andrew finished the night with 14 digs with Paulino and Moore adding 12 digs apiece.
- The win was Western's 11th of the season, a vast improvement from the 2025 season's one win. And the victory likely cost CCU the No. 5 seed in the RMAC postseason tournament.
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