At first, the Fort Lewis volleyball team looked sleepy. Falling behind 15-5 to CSU-Pueblo will do that.

But within mere minutes, the frustrating deficit awakened the sleeping giants and the Skyhawks powered to a 3-0 victory over the Thunderwolves at Whalen Gymnasium.

The opening game reversal started with a pair of dynamic kills from sophomore Chelsea Flaming, two more kills from middle hitter Taylor Hillberry and a trio of service aces from Flaming.

But the Skyhawks did not pull even with CSU-Pueblo until they went to senior slugger Jessica Bailey, who blasted away from the right side.

Taking well-placed sets from Melissa Childs, Bailey - a senior "phenom" according to her coach - attacked with a vengeance. Her spikes tied the match at 18-18.

When Bailey drilled a kill to the floor off a beautiful back set from Childs, Fort Lewis went ahead 21-19 - taking a lead they would not relinquish.

Childs set middle Cora Vorwald for a kill. Freshman Jessica Wilson aced a jump serve. CSU-Pueblo offered a service error.

And the first game was over with FLC winning 25-22, after trailing by 10 points.

They would not trail again in games 2 and 3, winning 25-17, 25-15.

"She's a difference maker," Fort Lewis coach Shelly Aaland said of Bailey, the senior from Prairie High School in Ridgefield, Wash.

"She's a phenom," Aaland added.

"She and Melissa (Childs) have been playing together now for two years," Aaland said, describing the offensive efficiency that the two have developed.

The numbers reflected that efficiency Saturday. Bailey finished with a match-high 13 kills on 18 attempts, with only two attacking errors - off-the-chart numbers.

She hit at a stagger .611 percentage.

Flaming, a former Durango High School standout, added 11 kills and only one hitting error.

She hit .526 for the match. She also had a team-high 13 digs.

Childs put up 36 assists.

"What's nice is our middles are coming around," Aaland said.

Taylor Hillberry had six kills from the middle and Vorwald, another former DHS standout, had five kills. Jessica Wilson, an outside hitter and yet another DHS graduate, contributed eight kills and nine digs.

Bailey, the veteran leader on the otherwise youthful Skyhawk roster, diverted credit for his kills to setter Childs.

"She has such court presence. She's able to see the (other team's) blockers so well," Bailey said.

"And she has so many options."

Often, Childs set away from the CSU-Pueblo blockers enabling the FLC hitter to hammer away.

"I was really lucky," Bailey said, describing her hitting opportunities that came without facing the blocks from the Thunderwolves.

Caitlyn Jewell led CSU-Pueblo with three solo blocks. Jewell is a senior and a former Pagosa Springs player.

Bailey said the turnaround in the opening game set the tone for the match.

"I think it was a huge momentum change," Bailey said. "Then we started blocking."

The Fort Lewis senior said she embraces her role as the veteran leader on the team.

"I just love the sport of volleyball. I try to share that love of volleyball with them," she said of her younger teammates, who she described as smart beyond their years.

The victory improved the FLC volleyball team to 2-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, 7-3 overall.

CSU-Pueblo fell to 0-2 in the RMAC, 208 overall.

The Skyhawks will host Western State in another RMAC match at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Whalen Gymnasium.

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