RANGELY, Colo. — Colorado Northwestern Community College Volleyball reached a major milestone Friday night, earning its first conference victory in seven years with a thrilling five-set win over Truckee Meadows Community College.
Under the new leadership of Interim Head Coach Doug Merrill, the Spartans battled through five sets to defeat TMCC 3-2, winning by scores of 23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 16-25 and 15-10. The victory moved CNCC to 3-12 overall and 1-6 in conference play.
After narrowly dropping the opening set 25-23, CNCC responded by taking control of the next two. The Spartans won the second set 25-20 before following with a 25-21 victory in the third to take a 2-1 advantage. TMCC responded with a 25-16 win in the fourth, sending the match to a deciding fifth set.
With an opportunity to end a seven-year conference win drought, the Spartans put together their best offensive set of the night. CNCC recorded eight kills with only one attacking error on 17 attempts, hitting an impressive .412 in the fifth set.
Kinzlee Brindley helped set the tone early in the deciding set, recording three kills as CNCC jumped out to a 4-1 advantage. The Spartans never surrendered the lead and eventually pushed the advantage to 14-9 before Brindley delivered the final kill to finish off the 15-10 victory.
Brindley led the way with an outstanding all-around performance, finishing with a match-high 28 kills on 56 attacks while hitting .339. She also contributed 10 digs and four service aces.
Lexi Lebleu added 10 kills while hitting a team-best .375, while Gillian Creed recorded 10 kills and 28 assists. Savannah Townsend helped direct the Spartan offense with 21 assists while adding 16 digs.
The Spartans also received a strong defensive effort throughout the match. Taylor Tonche led CNCC with 21 digs and added two service aces, while Saria Hawkins recorded 15 digs and two aces. CNCC finished the night with 82 digs and nine service aces as a team.
Friday's victory is a major accomplishment for a Spartan program moving forward under Merrill's leadership. Breaking a seven-year conference win drought provides CNCC with another building block as the program continues to establish a new direction.
The Spartans finished the weekend with a series split against TMCC after falling 3-0 on Saturday.
CNCC will now head back on the road to take on Salt Lake Community College next Friday and Saturday. Following the trip to Salt Lake, the Spartans will return to Rangely to close out the season at home on Halloween weekend.
