LEWISTON, Idaho – Using a balanced attack that hit .394 and had 12 service aces, the Lewis-Clark State College women’s volleyball team rolled past Whitworth University of Spokane for the second time this season, winning 25-13, 25-16, 25-8 at the LCSC Activity Center on Tuesday night.
The Warriors, ranked 11th in the country, improved to 11-1 on the season and seven of those wins have been in straight sets. LCSC also defeated Whitworth 25-23, 25-12, 25-23 in Spokane earlier this month.
In Tuesday’s match, the Warriors wore pink shirts as part of Dig Pink Night, a fundraiser for breast cancer. For every person and player in attendance wearing pink, $1 was donated to the Dig Pink Foundation.
Despite a slow start in the first game, LCSC was in total control. All 16 Warriors played in at least two games and only two players saw action in all three games. The balanced playing time also shows in the balanced stats.
“It was a great match because everyone got to play,” LCSC coach Jen Greeny said. “I know Whitworth is a little banged up and they have a tough conference road trip ahead, but it was nice to get everyone in and see them play well.”
Three players, senior middle blocker Jenika Bird Jeppson, junior outside hitter Kelli Tikker, and junior middle blocker Nicole Graybeal, finished with six kills apiece to pace the Warriors. Graybeal also had three blocks as LCSC finished with eight team blocks, compared to two for the Pirates, who slipped to 3-4.
Junior Lauryn Herrick, who finished with four kills, led the Warriors with four service aces, while Graybeal, Kelsey Williams and Chelsea Shears added two each. Kim Fong finished with 16 assists, while Katie Hinrichs added 18 digs.
“We served very well tonight,” Greeny said.
In the opening game, LCSC trailed 10-9 but ran off eight straight points thanks to two aces by Graybeal. The Warriors scored 15 of the final 18 points in the game to win going away.
The second game also was close at the start. LCSC scored six straight points to break a 5-5 tie, but Whitworth rallied with four straight to make it 11-9. LCSC then scored nine of the next 12 points to open up a 20-12 lead and then closed it out.
The final game was all LCSC as seven straight points put it ahead 11-3. Another 7-0 run made it 19-5 and a kill by Williams eventually closed out the match.
Jalana White and Kristine Kardell paced Whitworth with three kills apiece. In all, the Pirates had 19 kills in the three games.
LCSC resumes Frontier Conference action on Thursday and Saturday at home. On Thursday, the Warriors face Montana Tech at 7 p.m., and then face Montana Western at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
