Ashley Preston led the Lady Bears with a match-high 12 digs against Colorado State.
Boxscore
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (Aug. 26, 2006)-Tessa Nelson totaled 11 kills and Jaime Strauss added 10 to lead host Colorado State to a 3-0 (30-15, 30-27, 30-24) victory over Morgan State in match four of the Colorado State Hilton Classic at Moby Arena.
The Lady Bears, which dropped to 0-2 on the season and in the tournament, were led by Ivanti Bush and Jeniqua Moran, who totaled 10 and eight kills, respectively. Ashley Preston finished with a match-high 12 digs, while Camille Coleman (five blocks) and Moran (four blocks) led Morgan’s defensive attack.
Morgan State fell behind 9-0 in the first game, before scoring on a service error by Colorado State’s Lindsey Hillegass. Moran earned the Lady Bears first kill of the game to make it a 10-2 score, before the host Rams extended their lead to 16-3 following an ace by Ashley Fornstrom. The Lady Bears pulled within 16-8, all on the serve of Preston. But it was all Colorado State after that, as the Rams closed out the game on a 10-4 run and ended the game on a service ace by Nelson for the 30-15 victory.
In Game 2, Morgan State battled back from six-point deficits four separate times before pulling within 24-23 on a kill by Jentri Fullove (three kills, 24 assists, six digs). However, the host Rams would go on a mini 4-0 run to extend their lead to 28-23. Morgan State fought back with a 3-0 spurt of its own to close the gap to 29-27 and forcing a CSU timeout. But on the ensuing play the Rams’ Tonya Mokelki’s kill slammed the door shut on Morgan’s comeback hopes, giving the Rams the 30-27 victory and a two game lead. The Lady Bears finished the game with a season-high 16 kills, with Bush and Moran leading the way with five and four, respectively.
The Lady Bears started the third game off on the right foot, taking a quick 4-0 lead behind the serve of Esther Johnson, who recorded two service aces. Colorado State responded with a 5-0 run to go ahead by a point. Morgan State fell behind 14-9, before staging a 6-2 run to trail 16-15. Leading by two at 21-19, the hosts began to pull away with a 5-1 run to increase its lead to 26-20, before winning 30-24.
The Lady Bears close out the Colorado State Hilton Classic later this evening when they take on undefeated Texas A&M at 5 p.m. MST at Moby Arena.
