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Fort Lewis College volleyball season evolves with win
Herald Sports Writer
The Grizzlies are the same team that won 3-1 in Alamosa on Sept. 11. The Skyhawks aren't.
We just came out and played smart - that fine line between really aggressive and smart.
- Shelly Aaland, FLC volleyball coach
The Fort Lewis College volleyball team hasn't treated this season like a lost cause since starting 4-15, instead choosing to use it as a learning opportunity for a group that will lose just one starter (Kelly McDonald) in 2010.
Their progress was on display Saturday at a festive Whalen Gymnasium, where the Skyhawks (9-16 overall, 7-10 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) beat the Grizzlies (12-13, 9-8) in five sets for their fifth victory in six matches.
FLC won the first two sets, then dropped the next two to set up a decisive fifth in which they recorded 11 kills and committed just one error.
"We went from pretty high emotion the first couple of games to them getting late momentum, and then the fifth game, Adams had everything going for them," Aaland said. "We just came out and played smart - that fine line between really aggressive and smart." Adriana Saiz had 52 assists setting a diverse Skyhawk attack in which Chelsea Flaming had 19 kills, Jessica Wilson scored 15, Taylor Hilberry added 13, and Natalie Reed chipped in 11.
"When you have four players that are providing that kind of offense, they're relying on each other to do their jobs," Aaland said.
"This weekend was the best I've seen our middles do their job as a position group." Wilson, troubled by back problems for much of the season, also had 14 digs for the Skyhawks.
"I'm so thrilled that she's coming along and showing us what she can do, because she was a big part of the offense," Aaland said.
"It's been nice to have that balance." The Skyhawks took a 15-11 lead in the first set on a Wilson kill, but Adams fought back to 16-15.
Fort Lewis scored four consecutive points on Flaming's serve for a 22-18 lead, then a kill from Wilson ended the set 25-22 before a group of costumed fans came onto the court jigging to "Cotton Eye Joe." Two kills and a block from Reed made it 13-8 in the second, and Taylor Hilberry followed a block with a kill for an 18-10 lead. FLC closed it out 25-15 on an error from the Grizzlies, who hit -.038 in the set.
Adams State jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the third, however. Fort Lewis got five consecutive points on Wilson's serve to cut its deficit to 16-13, but the Grizzlies held on for a 25-19 win.
Tied at 11 in the fourth set, six consecutive Grizzlies points gave them a commanding lead they protected for a 25-16 victory and a 2-2 tie.
The fifth set began with draws at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, then Wilson took over. Four kills and two blocks from the Durango High School alumna helped build a 13-8 lead, and an emphatic kill from Flaming ended it at 15-9.
Darcy Jennings had 18 kills on just four errors for the Grizzlies, while Callyn Weyenberg and Dominique Davis both had 11.
"Our big goal was to stop their middle (Jennings)," Aaland said. "She definitely came on, but we did a much better job." FLC will host Western State at 7 p.m. Tuesday, then Mesa State will visit for Senior Night next Friday to end the regular season.
"It helps to be at home," Aaland said. "It helps so much to have the fans and the energy, because they feed off that quite a bit." mpiper@durangoherald.com
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