LEWISTON, Idaho – Sophomore Lauryn Herrick had a season-high 13 kills and three of the team’s season-high 13 service aces to help the No. 12-ranked Lewis-Clark State College women’s volleyball team defeat the University of Great Falls 25-14, 21-25, 25-18, 25-13 in the Warriors’ Frontier Conference home opener at the LCSC Activity Center on Thursday night.
The win was the third straight for LCSC, all in conference play, which puts the Warriors on top of the standings, a half-game ahead of Carroll College, which is the only other undefeated team in league play. LCSC moves to 7-4 overall, while Great Falls slips to 1-1 in conference play and 6-8 overall.
“I thought, except for Game 2, it was a really clean match for us for the most part,” LCSC coach Jen Greeny said. “Again, we were able to spread the ball around and Lauryn was just lights out tonight.”
Herrick, who reached double-digits in kills for the second time this season, fell one short of tying her career high of 14 kills from last season. She led a balanced Warrior attack that featured six players with at least five kills.
“I thought we played really well tonight, especially at the net,” Herrick said. “We served well and we owned the net. I think we really played well as a team.”
Herrick, a 5-foot-11 outside hitter, had four kills in the opening game as the Warriors took control early with lead of 5-1 and 13-6. Great Falls cut the lead to four points at 16-12, but LCSC scored the next five points as both Herrick and senior middle blocker Dani Barrett had two kills apiece. A service ace by Herrick finished the game.
In the second game, LCSC started strong and took a 6-3 lead, but the Argos later answered with an 8-1 run to take an 11-7 advantage. The Warriors cut the lead to two on three occasions, and then got it down to 21-20, but couldn’t get over the hump. Kelsey Vanuden and Tosha Nunes had three kills apiece for the Argos in the game.
The third game was a see-saw battle that had UGF grab a 13-12 lead before LCSC went on a 6-0 run. Freshman Kaylee Rector had a service ace for LCSC during the run. The Warriors then continued the pressure as both Herrick and Anile Clemente had two kills to finish out the game.
The fourth game was all LCSC as the Warriors jumped out to a 12-1 advantage. Jenika Bird had three kills during the run, while Herrick and Dana Christiansen had two each. UGF never got closer than eight points the rest of the way as the Warriors emptied the bench.
“It was good to see everyone get into the match and play very well,” Herrick said.
Christiansen and Lydia Tollbom added eight kills apiece for LCSC, while Bird and Barrett had six each. Clemente, the team leader in kills, finished with five, but had match highs of 17 digs and five service aces.
“That’s how we need to be,” Greeny said of the Warriors’ balance. “We need to be able to spread the ball around.”
Lisa Davis led the Warriors with 23 assists, while Kim Fong added 15. Katie Hinrichs added 12 digs and two service aces.
As a team, LCSC hit .227 for the match and was led by Herrick’s .417 average.
LCSC returns to action on Saturday against Montana State University-Northern. The match is at 2 p.m. at the LCSC Activity Center.
