BILLINGS, Mont. - Junior Deddiy Alaimaleata had 20 kills and hit .655 for the match to help the Lewis-Clark State College women's volleyball team defeat Rocky Mountain College 25-22, 28-26, 20-25, 25-20 in Frontier Conference play on Saturday night.
The win capped a big week for the NAIA's 11th-ranked Warriors, who stand 2-0 in FC play and 10-1 on the season. LCSC also defeated Carroll College on Thursday night, which marked the first time LCSC has swept this road trip since the 2003 season.
LCSC was picked as the favorite to win the conference for the fourth straight year by the league's coaches in the preseason poll, while Carroll was chosen second and Rocky Mountain third.
Almaimaleata, an All-American selection in junior college, had a huge week for the Warriors. She had 13 kills and hit .444 in the four-set win over Carroll on Thursday.
"She played reallywell for us all week," LCSC coach Jen Greeny said.
The Warriors had a solid all-around match as they hit .256, had seven service aces, and nine team blocks.
"This was just an absolute huge match for us," Greeny said. "They are an excellent team, but we played really well and I'm very happy with this win."
The Warriors again had a balanced attack as Nicole Graybeal had 18 kills and hit .552 The junior also had five blocks and four service aces. Jenika Bird-Jeppson added 13 kills, while Kelli Tikker had nine kills and 19 digs.
Senior Kim Fong added 45 assists, while Katie Hinrichs had 23 digs. Freshman Marlee Zeman added 12 digs, while Chelsea Shears added two service aces.
Greeny said with the Warriors getting back to Lewiston late Monday after a trip to Florida for a tournament, the team didn't have a lot of time to do much before hitting the road again on Wednesday. She said because the team is used to being on the road during the past week, playing its seventh straight match away didn't bother the team.
"We played solid defensively and we did do a number of things well," Greeny said of the trip. "But there's always room for improvement."
Greeny also said despite half of the roster being new to the program this year, the team has come together nicely.
"I think our returners have done a good job of working with the newcomers and getting them engrained into our system," Greeny said.
LCSC will play three home matches this week, starting on Tuesday. The Warriors will take on Whitworth University at 7 p.m., following a high school matchup between Lewiston and Clarkston at the LCSC Activity Center. The Warriors then play host to Montana Tech on Thursday and Montana Western on Saturday in FC play.
