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Top seed
LCSC sweeps Montana Western
11-14-08
LEWISTON, Idaho - It. wasn't particularly flashy, but it
didn't have to be. The top seed Lewis-Clark State
College women's volleyball team was simply too powerful
in the end.
With
its three big hitters combing for a hitting percentage
of above .500, LCSC rolled to a 25-15, 25-16, 25-19 win
over eighth seed University of Montana Western in the
opening round of the Bank of Whitman Frontier Conference
Volleyball Tournament on Friday at the LCSC Activity
Center.
The
win lifts LCSC, ranked No. 14 in the NAIA, to 26-2 on
the season and into Saturday's semifinals. LCSC will
play at 1 p.m. against the winner of Friday's final
first-round match between Westminster and Carroll. The
other semifinal has No. 6 seed Montana Tech taking on
No. 2 seed Rocky Mountain at 11 a.m. The two semifinal
winners square off at 7 p.m. for the title and an
automatic berth to the NAIA national tournament.
LCSC,
which won its second straight FC regular-season title,
is aiming for its second straight FC tourney title as
well.
The
Warriors didn't have much trouble against Western,
grabbing the early lead in all three sets. Western,
which finishes the season at 3-22, did erase a 10-point
deficit in the third set and cut the margin to five
before LCSC put it away.
"LC
is a great team and we knew that coming in," Montana
Western coach Katie Howells said. "We're just so young
and inexperienced. But I definitely saw some good things
tonight."
Western, which had a roster of two juniors, four
sophomores and four freshmen, had a problem stopping
LCSC's big three of FC Player of the Year Anile
Clemente, fellow FC all-conference first-team selection
Julie Maciboba, and Austyn Lewis. The three combined for
34 kills.
"I
thought it was a good match and our hitting was
fantastic," LCSC coach Jennifer Greeny said. "There are
a few things we need to do better. Our passing needs to
improve and our blocking needs to improve, but we really
hit well tonight."
Clemente posted 19 kills and a .600 hitting percentage.
She also had three service aces and eight digs. Maciboba
had eight kills, a .429 hitting percentage, three digs
and two block assists, while Austyn Lewis had seven
kills and a .778 hitting percentage.
"I
thought our middle played extremely well," Greeny said
of Lewis and Maciboba, who combined for just two hitting
errors.
As a
team, the Warriors hit .432, compared to .163 for
Western.
Courtney Nicholls led Western with nine kills, while
Maria Peterson had 19 assists.
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