It has been both under the radar and then with a big target on its back, but it hasn’t mattered for the Lewis-Clark State College women’s volleyball program in its two years under coach Jennifer Greeny because the results have been the same: Frontier Conference regular season and tournament titles and berths to the NAIA National Tournament.

And even though there are some big shoes to fill from a year ago when the Warriors went 30-4 and undefeated at home for the second straight season, Lewis-Clark State again appears to be loaded for another big year.

Two years ago in Greeny’s first season, the Warriors were picked to finish sixth in the conference’s preseason poll by the coaches, but put together a fairy-tale season that saw the team earn the No. 9 seed at the national tournament.

Last year, Lewis-Clark State was chosen as the league favorite and won a program-record 20 straight matches to start the season. The Warriors then defeated Shawnee State in four games in the national tournament’s opening round to stand at 29-2, and then went 1-2 in the pool play portion of nationals.

The Warriors did lose three senior starters from the squad, including two first-team all-conference picks, middle blocker Julie Maciboba and libero Lindsay Scott, but plenty of firepower remains. Greeny, who has twice been named the conference and Region I Coach of the Year, also had added a solid recruiting class that blends both experience at the Division I and junior college level plus talented freshmen.

The key returnee is senior outside hitter Anile Clemente, who was the conference’s Player of the Year and an AVCA All-America selection. Clemente played through a knee injury late in the year but has fully recovered from offseason surgery. She ranked in the top 30 in the NAIA and led the conference last year for service aces and kills per game.

Also returning on the front row are seniors Dani Barrett, a middle blocker, and Dana Christiansen, a right-side hitter.

 Also back is sophomore outside hitter Lauryn Herrick. Both Barrett and Herrick came on during the second half of the season last year and Herrick made the conference’s All-Freshman squad. Christiansen has been a starter throughout her career at Lewis-Clark State and finished fourth on the team in kills, just one behind Herrick last year.

The Warriors return all three setters from a year ago, led by senior Lisa Davis and sophomore Abby Bruya. The two finished with 544 and 516 assists, respectively, from a year ago. Kim Fong also returns after battling a knee injury for parts of the last two seasons.

Junior Katie Hinrichs saw plenty of action as a backup to Scott last year and will be the incumbent for the defensive specialist/libero position. The Warriors also recruited two freshmen from Washington for that position, Stephanie Shumaker of Covington, and Kaylee Rector of Spokane.

The Warriors have three middle blockers new to the program, including Demi Dlouhy, a transfer from Montana State University who will be a junior. Junior College transfer Jenika Bird of Green River in Wyoming and the tallest recruit, 6-foot-2 freshman Liz Clark from Kennewick, also are expected to make an impact.

Another transfer, Kelli Tikker of Nine Mile Falls, will be an outside hitter. She played at Gonzaga last season for former Warrior coach Kip Yoshimura.

The other two newcomers to the program are right-side hitter Lydia Tollbom, a Sandpoint native who played two seasons at North Idaho College, and setter Alyssa Wold of Spokane. Despite being a freshman, Wold is expected to have an immediate impact on the team.