Using a variety of lineup combinations, the Lewis-Clark State College women’s volleyball team warmed up for a pair of key Frontier Conference road matches this weekend by defeating Walla Walla University 25-14, 25-10, 25-13 in a nonleague match at the LCSC Activity Center on Wednesday night.
The Warriors, ranked No. 21 in the NAIA, improve to 15-6 after their second three-set sweep of the Wolves this season. Walla Walla, a four-year Seventh-day Adventist school, fall to 7-12 overall.
With junior libero Katie Hinrichs and senior middle blocker Dani Barrett being held out of the match to rest, Warrior coach Jen Greeny altered the starting lineup, going with two setters. Greeny proceeded to experiment with the Warrior lineup throughout the match.
“We were trying some new things tonight,” Greeny said after the Warriors stretched their win streak to three. “We had some injuries and illnesses and we were just trying to work on things and adjust.
“We had some players in some new positions and I think we did a great job of adjusting. There was really no sense of panic out there. We can throw anyone into a position and they can play it, and in the sport of volleyball, unlike some other sports, that really isn’t that easy to do.”
LCSC hit .262 for the match and outblocked Walla Walla 9-2. The Wolves hit a negative-.073 for the match.
Junior Jenika Bird, who has is coming off an injury, led the Warriors with six kills, while Dana Christiansen and Demi Dlouhy added five each. Christiansen also hit a match-high .417 and had two solo blocks, while Dlouhy finished with two solo blocks and two block assists. Anile Clemente and Lauryn Herrick added four kills apiece in limited playing time.
LCSC dominated all phases of the match. The team finished with seven aces, including two each from Stephanie Shumaker and Kelli Tikker. Lisa Davis led the way for LCSC with 15 assists, while Shumaker added 11 digs.
Heather McFadden and Natalie Wilkening had five kills apiece for the Wolves. Wilkening also finished with 14 digs, while Torrey Haddad added 14 assists.
The Warriors return to action on Friday night when they meet the University of Great Falls at 6 p.m. LCSC then travels to Havre, Mont., to face Montana State University-Northern at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
