Area briefs: CC qualifies for Division III volleyball nationals

Emily Perkins might have played the volleyball match of her life Saturday night. In fact, the same might have applied to several of the Colorado College Tigers.

That’s what it took to beat La Verne 25-19, 20-25, 21-25, 25-19, 15-9 in the NCAA West Region championship match in Redlands, Calif.

The Tigers (35-4), who were top-seeded in the regional, advanced to the eight-team national championships next weekend in Cleveland. CC will play Washington University of St. Louis on Thursday.

Perkins finished with 21 kills, a handful coming in the final set, and 13 digs in the Tigers’ first victory in five matches against La Verne. Meredith Ballard added 13 kills, Sarah Schmoker 12 kills — including championship point — and Erika Pirotte 10 kills and 23 digs.

Amy Schornack totalled 57 assists, five kills and six digs for the Tigers. Laura Goldsmith, another key player in the final set, had nine kills and 24 digs.

Mountain Region cross country

At Albuquerque, N.M.: Air Force’s Justin Tyner qualified for the NCAA Championships, finishing fifth in the Mountain Region event and leading the Falcons to sixth place among teams. Tyner finished in 30 minutes, 29.5 seconds for 10,000 meters.

In the women’s race, Air Academy graduate Allie McLaughlin finished third in 20:45.1 for 6,000 meters to help Colorado win the title.

CC cross country

Claremont, Calif.: CC’s Jackson Brainerd edged Occidental’s Eric Kleinsasser in the final 5 meters to win the men’s race at the NCAA Division III West Regional in 25:26.65 for 8,000 meters.

The Tigers were third among teams with 91 points, well behind Claremont and Willamette. Two other Tigers — Dan Kraft (18th) and Andrew Wagner (19th) — cracked the top 20 for CC, which appears in line for an at-large team entry to next week’s Division III nationals in Cleveland.

UCCS basketball

The Stephen Kirkham era begins in earnest this week as the Mountain Lions head north to take on the Montana State-Billings Yellowjackets today.

Kirkham, who also is athletic director at UCCS, goes into this season with a career coaching record of 432-233 at all levels, including 299-157 as the women’s basketball coach at Mesa State from 1988-2004. His winning percentages of .650 overall and .656 at Mesa State stand in stark contrast to the .392 (187-290) over the 20 years the UCCS women’s program has existed.

He takes over a program that returns eight players, including four starters, from last season’s 8-19 team. Senior point guard Janean Jubic averaged eight points and 3.7 assists (eighth best in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference), while junior forward Mallory Lowe averaged 9 points and 4.7 rebounds.

In Montana State-Billings, the Mountain Lions are facing a team that went 4-1 against RMAC teams a season ago, 3-0 at Alterowitz Gymnasium in Billings. The RMAC teams the Yellowjackets were not pushovers. Montana State-Billings faced Colorado State-Pueblo twice, Metro State twice and Colorado School of Mines once. Each of those teams made it all the way to the RMAC playoffs.

Other college basketball

• Andre McFarland scored 13 points as Colorado State downed  Winston-Salem State, 57-40.

• Raimee Beck led Air Force in scoring for the second straight game with 15 points, but the Falcons fell to Tennessee Tech, 81-49 at the Holiday Inn Islander Tip-off Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Air Force wrestling

With a total of seven place winners, including a pair of tournament champions, the Air Force wrestling team began the season Saturday at the Cowboy Open, hosted by Western Wrestling Conference rival Wyoming.

Capturing individual titles were freshmen Cole VonOhlen, wrestling in the 141-pound weight class of the Elite Division, and Robert Isley, competing at 184 pounds in the Amateur Division.

Figure skating

South Korea’s Kim Yu-na set a world record for a short program at Skate America in Lake Placid, N.Y., breaking her own mark with 76.28 points.

Broodmoor skater Rachael Flatt was second with 58.80 points, followed by Hungary’s Julia Sebestyen with 58.54. Another Broadmoor skater, Alexe Gilles, was 10th.

“She’s pretty incredible,” Flatt said of Yu-na. “For me, she’s incredibly inspiring and someone I look up to. I’m just inspired when we get on the ice and I think: ‘Cool, Yu-na is out here.”

American Evan Lysacek won the men's title. Broadmoor skater Ryan Bradley, with a sizzling second-place free skate, moved from eighth and finished third. Clubmate Brandon Mroz went in the other direction, falling from third to eighth.