(Story courtesy of the Colorado College athletics website)
GEORGETOWN, Texas – Sophomore middle hitter Jordan Mullen put down a match-high 15 kills to power the No. 1-ranked Colorado College volleyball team to a 3-0 victory over the College of New Rochelle on Friday afternoon in the opening round of the 2017 NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship at the Robertson Center on the campus of Southwestern University.
The Tigers improved to 32-1 overall will face Pacific Lutheran University in a second-round match on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT. The Lutes advanced with a 25-16, 19-25, 25-23, 27-25 over No. 5 Trinity University in the first match of the Georgetown Regional.
Mullen, who earned a spot on the American Volleyball Coaches Association's all-West Region first team on Thursday, hit a blistering .542 while recording double-digit kills for the 15th time this season. She continued her torrid pace by hitting .500 or better for the fourth time in the last six matches.
Sophomore middle hitter Marguerite Spaethling hit .438 and had nine kills on 16 attacks with only two errors.
CC's top percentage belonged to senior middle hitter Glenna Yancey, who hit .833 with five kills on six attacks while playing just one set.
Sophomore libero Lizzy Counts, herself a first-team all-region selection, dished out 38 assists while conducting the Colorado College attack that finished a match at .300 or better for the 13th time this year.
Counts ran her season total to 1,126 assists, which ranks sixth on the program's single-season list. She also became the eighth Tiger to record 2,000 or more career assists, finishing the match with 2023.
CC hit .330 as a team, compared to .133 for the Blue Angels.
Sophomore libero Anna Gurolnick led the Colorado College defense with 12 kills, while senior middle hitter Myca Steffey-Bean had a hand in a pair of blocked shots.
Sophomore setter/right side hitter Cristal Liciaga posted a double-double with 11 kills and 12 assists for New Rochelle.
Senior outside hitter Fabiola Padilla had a match-high 13 digs for the Blue Angels, who finished the season with a 20-11 overall record.