LCSC beats College of Idaho in semifinals of volleyball tourney

11-16-07

SPOKANE – The Lewis-Clark State College volleyball team’s remarkable season continued on Friday when the Warriors won two matches and moved into the championship game of the Region I Tournament at the Spokane ValleyHub. 

In Friday's late semifinal match, the Warriors defeated top seed College of Idaho 22-30, 30-12, 23-30, 30-24, 15-5 to move one victory away from clinching a berth to the 20-team NAIA national tournament. 

LCSC, ranked No. 20 in the country, lost to College of Idaho, ranked No. 8, in three straight games earlier this season in Caldwell, but came through in the clutch to set up a showdown with fellow Frontier Conference member Westminster for the title. The two meet Saturday at 2 p.m. The winner receives an automatic berth to nationals. 

The second-place team also has an excellent shot at making nationals under the at-large berth qualification plan the NAIA has in place. The NAIA lists scenarios for at-large berths and Region II will receive a second berth as long as the national host school, Columbia, wins its Region. If Columbia doesn't win its region, then there is no guarantee Region I will get two teams. 

Westminster moved to the title match by defeating Great Fallls 30-28, 25-30, 30-28, 24-30, 17-15. 

This will be the fourth meeting between LCSC, 24-6, and Westminster, 23-9. The Warriors have won all three meetings, including last week's match for the Frontier Conference Tournament title. 

Earlier in the day, the Warriors advanced to the semifinals by finishing second in its pool with a 30-18, 30-22, 30-28 win over Oregon Institute of Technology. 

Against the College of Idaho, LCSC hit .444 in the fifth and decided game while the Yotes hit .000. 

Junior Cintia Alessi led LCSC with 15 kills, while sophomore Anile Clemente added 13 kills, Marie Balmer had nine, and Brittney Kubik had eight. Lisa Davis had 31 kills, while Mindy Meyer had 23. Lindsay Scott had 24 digs, while Alessi had 20. Kubik had four blocks, while Julie Maciboba had three. 

The Warriors had nine service aces in the match, including three each from Meyer and freshman Katie Hinrichs. 

In the sweep of Oregon Tech, the Warriors dominated play in the middle to claim the win. Senior middle blocker Kubik , a first-team All-Frontier Conference selection, had 13 kills and hit .591 in the match, while Maciboba, a second-team all-league choice, added 10 kills and hit .750. The two also combined for three of the team’s 10 blocks. 

“Our middle did a fantastic job,” Greeny said. “They just came through when we needed them to. It really was a great team effort in this one.” 

Clemente added eight kills, while Balmer added seven and Alessi had five.  

Davis led the Warriors with 34 assists, while Alessi had 14 digs and Scott added 12. Alessi also had four of the team’s 11 service aces. 

LCSC hit .339 in the match, compared to .214 for Oregon Tech.  Tech also had only three blocks in the game. 

Great Falls defeated Southern Oregon to finish pool B play with a 3-0 record. Southern Oregon, ranked No. 10 in the country, went 1-2 in pool play and was eliminated from the tournament along with Oregon Tech, which went 0-3 in pool play. 

In Pool A, College of Idaho defeated Montana Tech in four games to finish its pool at 3-0, while Westminster swept Rocky Mountain to claim second place at 2-1. Rocky Mountain (1-2) and Montana Tech (0-3) were eliminated also from further action. 

There are 14 regional tournaments being played this weekend and each winner received an automatic berth to the NAIA national tournament, which will be Nov. 28-Dec. 1 at Columbia College in Columbia, Mo. As the host school, Columbia College also is guaranteed a berth in the 20-team tournament so if it doesn’t win its region, only five at-large berths are available for nationals. If Columbia wins its region, then six at-large berths are available for nationals.