Lydia Tollbom, a Sandpoint High product who played the past two seasons at North Idaho College, has signed a letter-of-intent to play for the two-time defending Frontier Conference champion Lewis-Clark State College volleyball team this fall, Warrior assistant coach Burdette Greeny has announced.
Tollbom is a 6-foot-1 right-side hitter who helped NIC finish 11th at the national junior college volleyball tournament last season.
During her freshman season at NIC, she appeared in 49 games and averaged 2.20 kills per game. This past season she was second on the team in kills per game at 2.62 and finished with 102 kills. She is an excellent server and had three service aces in a match last season. She also was the MVP of the Spokane Falls INWC Classic.
“Lydia finished sixth in kills in a conference that is consistently one of the best junior college conferences in the country,” Greeny said. “She is a strong blocker and powerful hitter, who hits a very heavy ball. We also believe Lydia has the capability to become a more consistent hitter, which will translate into even more success. Lydia’s competitive streak will serve her well in that it will give her a legitimate opportunity to push for immediate playing time.”
At Sandpoint, Tallbom was a two-year letterwinner and was named the team’s Most Improved Player her freshmen and junior seasons. She earned all-Inland Empire League Second Team honors and helped the Bulldogs win the both the District I-II and Idaho State Class 4A tournament titles her senior season. Tallbom also played for the Club Idaho Northwest squad.
“We are excited that Lydia is joining our program,” Greeny said. “She comes from a traditionally very successful junior college program in North Idaho College led by a knowledgeable head coach, Chris Kosty. Between her high school team, which won the 2007 Idaho 4A title, and this year’s North Idaho team, which finished 11th in the nation, Lydia is accustomed to winning. This fact isn’t lost on us and something we definitely like our players to possess.”
Talbom, who is the daughter of Ward and Liz Tallbom, has a sister, Delci, and a brother, Bryan. She intends to major in Education at LCSC.
“Besides her ability on the court, what struck us most about Lydia is her infectious personality,” Greeny said. “She always seems to be in a good mood and this is exactly one of the traits we look for in our players. Lydia reminded us a lot in this regard to Austyn Lewis, our senior team captain from this past year. This is quite a compliment in our eyes because we really want to surround ourselves with positive people who are passionate about being a part of our program. We are thrilled to have someone like Lydia want to join our program.”
LCSC posted a 30-4 record last season and won its second straight conference regular season and tournament titles. LCSC advanced to the national tournament and was ranked No. 14 in the final NAIA poll.
The Warriors kick off their season Aug. 28-29 by playing host to Comfort Inn Invitational at the LCSC Activity Center. Scheduled to take part in the tournament are LCSC, Northwest College, Concordia-Irvine, College of Idaho and Great Falls
