Despite one of season’s better games, Pack falls to Fort Lewis

PUEBLO, Colo. - Taking on the team with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's best record, the ThunderWolves had to play out of their minds to overcome Fort Lewis Friday night. Instead of rolling over, the Pack put together one of their best fundamental effort of the season, despite losing three games to one.

The ThunderWolves had the opportunity to win each of the first three games of the match, pushing the Skyhawks to the brink in the first game, only losing 30-23. In the second game, the ThunderWolves led the entire game, holding off the Skyhawks for a 30-27 lead. After two games, Pack junior Caitlyn Jewell was playing some of her best volleyball of the season, boasting 11 kills and a hitting percentage of .500.

But the Pack could only hold the Skyhawks at bay for so long. Led by one of the top killers in the RMAC, Nicole Schwab, Fort Lewis was able to take the final last steps in a back-and-forth game to take a pivotal game three, cashing in several of the ThunderWolves' attack errors to keep a few steps ahead. Their fourth game win by a 30-20 score sealed the deal.

Statistically, the ThunderWolves outplayed the team that is considered by many to be the RMAC's best - they outkilled the Skyhawks (57-56), made more digs (67-59), and even bested the Skyhawks in aces. But it was the error total, the Pack's 38 to Fort Lewis' 13, that was the difference in the match. But ThunderWolves head coach Chris Jonson said that the errors the Pack created in this game weren't as noticeable as in games past, when net serves and mental errors were what did the Pack in.

"Our performance tonight ranks pretty high in relation to our others this season," Jonson said. "We haven't played as consistently as we did tonight, and the errors that did us in weren't as big as they were in the past."

The loss officially knocks the ThunderWolves out of playoff contention, but that prospect is all that discouraging, Jonson said. Now that playoffs are officially out of the question, it is fair to classify the 2007 season, Jonson's first as coach, as a "rebuilding year," and tonight's game showed a positive step in the right direction.

"We're getting closer to the team we want to be," Jonson said. "Our record may not be what we want it to be, but know we are going in the right direction of building a strong program, and we hope some good play these final three games will carry on into next season."

The Pack's season continues Saturday with the final home match of the season against Mesa State.