The Colorado College volleyball team lived up to it's No. 1 national ranking and won its third Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship in the last four seasons by coming from behind to defeat Trinity University 22-25, 25-21, 30-28, 25-19 on Saturday afternoon at Reid Arena.

Senior setter Isabelle Aragon-Menzel, who dished out 53 assists and recorded 14 digs, and directed CC to a .287 team hitting percentage, was named the championships MVP. The SCAC Setter of the Year posted her 12th double-double of the year.

"Belle is an amazing leader on the court who makes the right set choices at the right times," head coach Rick Swan said. "She does a great job of making her hitters look good, and 70 kills in four sets in amazing. To see Belle run the show like that was fun to watch."

Senior outside hitter Allie Freeburg, a first-team all-conference selection, led Colorado College with a season-high 19 kills and hit .424 with five errors on 33 swings. She also recorded a season-high 12 digs for her third career double-double.

"Allie saves her best games for big matches," Swan said. "She rises to the occasion when matches mean the most. Allie wanted the ball and she made the most of it. They couldn't handle her. I was so happy to see Allie have a great match."

Junior middle hitter Georgia Mullins, the SCAC Player of the Year, finished with 15 kills and hit .345. The first-team all-SCAC selection set the program record by finishing the season with a .417 hitting percentage.

"Georgia struggled early but came on strong later in the match," Swan said. "They were on her because they know what she is capable of doing. Georgia had an incredible season hitting over .400. She worked so hard to get to where she is at, and I expect to Georgia her do great things next year as well."
    

    
Outside hitter Isabella Lipacis, the SCAC Freshman of the Year, also produced 15 kills while hitting .375, and completed her second double-double of the season with a match-high 15 digs.

Junior outside hitter Isabella Vasquez, a first-team all-SCAC selection, added 13 kills.

Senior outside hitter Avery Tuggle had four kills and Trinity took advantage of six CC service errors to win the first set. It marked the first time that Colorado College dropped the first set of a match this season and broke CC's 32-set winning streak.

Vasquez recorded five kills on six swings during the second set when Colorado College never trailed. TU was within 10-9 after a CC hitting error, but a 9-4 surge gave the host Tigers a six-point lead and forced Trinity to burn its second time out. TU clawed its way back to within three points twice, but Colorado College closed out the set on a kill by Mullins.

In the pivotal third set, CC overcame an early six-point deficit to tie the score at 13-13. Colorado College took its first lead of the set at 24-23 on a Vasquez kill, but Trinity staved off five set points before CC scored on a Mullins kill and a TU hitting error.

Colorado College carried the momentum into the fourth set and never trailed. CC led 8-2 after a Trinity error, but the defending champions battle back to with 12-10 on a kill by Sara Flynn. Colorado College stretched its cushion to 18-13 on a kill from Vasquez, only to see TU close to within two at 19-17.

Kills from Emma Hewlin and Freeburg gave CC a 21-17, and after the teams traded the next four points, Colorado College sealed the victory with a kill from Mullins and a Trinity hitting error.    

The match mark the fifth time Colorado College and Trinity played for the conference championship, with CC winning four of the five showdowns.

The SCAC championship is the sixth for the CC volleyball program, the second most behind Trinity's 12.

"We have all the respect in the world for Trinity and the program the Julie (Jenkins) runs," Swan said. "They've been the marquee team in the SCAC for the last 30 years. To come out here and sweep them two months ago, we knew coming back that they would bring their 'A' game and it was going to be a battle." 
   
   
Colorado College Standouts
Peyton Hummel recorded 10 digs.
Emma Hewlin finished with four kills and a pair of blocked shots.
 
Trinity Standouts
Emily Ellis recorded eight kills and seven total blocks.
Emma Funk produced eight kills and six total blocks.
Lexie Acevedo led TU with 12 digs.
 
Notes
Colorado College finished the season with a 17-0 record and the No. 1 ranking in the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Division III poll.
Trinity University ends the season with a 13-3 record, with all three losses at the hands of CC.