October 3, 2007

VOLLEYBALL

After suffering its first loss in Frontier Conference play last week, the Warriors will try to end the first half of the conference season with a pair of wins, which would leave them no worse than a tie for first place at the midway point. 

The Warriors, 4-1 in conference play and 10-3 overall, play host to Montana-Western at 7 p.m. on Thursday and then face league-leading Montana Tech on Saturday at 2 p.m. Both matches will be played in the LCSC Activity Center. 

Anyone who brings two cans of food to donate to the area food bank will be admitted free to Thursday’s match. Also on Saturday, Valley Boys and Girls Club members will be admitted free by wearing their Club T-shirt or showing their Club card. 

Montana-Western is winless in 15 matches this season, including five in conference play. The team has been hit hard by injuries. The latest is freshman Jandi Farnsworth, is questionable for Thursday’s match with a knee injury. 

Montana Tech stands at 5-0 in conference play and 13-4 overall. After opening the season with four straight losses, the team responded with 13 straight wins. Tech plays at Westminster, which is 4-1 in league play, on Thursday. 

LCSC had a seven-match win streak snapped last week by Rocky Mountain College, which dropped LCSC a spot to fifth in the Region I rankings. Westminster, which LCSC beat earlier this season, is ranked second, while Montana Tech is fourth. Tech also received votes in the NAIA national poll, while Westminster, which is 11-5, is ranked 11th overall. 

As a team, the Warriors rank No. 23 in the NAIA in kills per game at 14.59, are No. 27 in assists per game at 13.04, and are No. 38 in blocks per game at 2.76. 

Warrior senior Brittney Kubik is No. 18 in the country in blocks per game at 1.54. 

Junior Cintia Alessi has played in the back row the past two weeks because of an abdominal pull. Despite this, she still leads the team in kills with 123, while Julie Maciboba has 115 and Kubik 111. Anile Clemente has 100 kills and leads the team with a 2.8 kill average per game. Lisa Davis is the team leader in assists at 277 and is second on the team in service aces with 19, behind Maciboba’s 20. Alessi has 205 digs and Lindsay Scott has added 174. 

LCSC is 3-0 at home this season, all in conference play. During the second half of the conference schedule, LCSC will play five of its seven matches on the road. 

Also on Saturday, the Warrior coaching staff and players will hold their Little Spikers Volleyball Clinic, starting at 10 a.m. The clinic is for boys and girls ages 5-10 and will be held at the LCSC Activity Center. 

FRONTIER CONFERENCE STANDINGS  – Montana Tech 5-0, 13-4; LCSC 4-1, 10-3; Westminster 4-1, 11-5; Rocky Mountain 4-2, 9-10; Great Falls 2-4, 8-9; Montana State-Northern 2-4, 3-11; Carroll 1-5, 7-11; Montana-Western 0-5, 0-15. 

WOMEN’S GOLF 

The Warrior women wrap up the fall portion of their schedule by taking part in the Western Washington Invitational.

The 54-hole event will feature 36 holes on Monday and the final 18 holes on Tuesday at the Bellingham Golf and Country Club.

The Warriors stand in second place in the conference standings after three fall conference tournaments. The conference champion is determined by taking the team score from the five conference tournaments and adding them together. The final two conference tournaments will be held next spring, including the LCSC Invitational in Lewiston.