COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor volleyball team dropped a pair of contests at the Colorado College Invitational in Colorado Springs, falling 3-1 to Bluffton University and 3-0 to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. The losses dropped the Cru to 3-3 on the season while Wisconsin-Whitewater improved to 6-0 and Bluffton moved to 3-3.
 
UMHB opened the tournament dropping a four-set decision to Bluffton University. The Cru dropped the first set 25-19 before taking the second-set with the same score. The third set remained tight with 11 tied scores before Bluffton took the third set 28-26 and the fourth set 25-23. Natasha Evans and Shelby Russell led the Cru with 14 kills each while Cheyenne Dowdey added nine. Shelby Prather had a team-high 35 assists helping the Cru to a .195 hitting percentage in the match with Evans adding 11. Defensively, Abby Voskuil led the Cru with 19 digs while Evans and Russel each recorded 10. Dowdey led UMHB with six blocks in the match, helping the Cru to a team-total 11. UMHB totaled 53 kills on 149 attacks with 24 errors while Bluffton had 61 kills on 151 attacks with 21 errors.
 
The Cru finished the day dropping a three-set decision to Wisconsin-Whitewater 25-15, 25-22, 25-22. Russell led the Cru with nine kills while Evans and Voskuil each added seven. Prather again led the Cru with 21 assists while Evans added 11. Defensively, Jordan Yates recorded a match-high 12 digs followed by Voskuil with 11. UMHB totaled 35 kills on 95 attacks with 10 errors while Wisconsin-Whitewater had 53 kills on 120 attacks with 16 errors. The Warhawks are ranked 17th in the country by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
 
UMHB continues play tomorrow with a 10 a.m. (MT) match against Chapman University and a noon (MT) match against tournament-host Colorado College. Continuing coverage of the tournament is available at cctigers.com.