LEWISTON, Idaho – The Lewis-Clark State College women’s volleyball team may have to “dig” a little bit deeper during the second half of Frontier Conference play this season.
That was the case Thursday night as the Warriors’ defense again stepped up big with a 25-22, 25-14, 26-24 victory over Carroll College in a matchup of NAIA Top 25-ranked teams at the LCSC Activity Center.
The Warriors, ranked No. 9, improved to 18-1 overall and 8-0 in conference play with their 10th straight win. The Warriors are now 24-3 in conference sets this season and have swept five of the eight matches. Overall, 13 of LCSC’s 19 wins have been sweeps.
Carroll, ranked No. 25 in the NAIA, falls to 16-8 overall and 5-3 in conference play, was bidding for the road win and led midway through the first game and had game point in the third game, but the Warrior defense came up with key digs and blocks to gut out the win.
“First of all, I’m just thankful to be home and playing in front of a great crowd,” LCSC coach Jen Greeny said after the Warriors first home match in nearly a month. “I thought defensively we did a great job. Our back row really did some great things out there.”
Sparked by seniors Katie Hinrichs and Kim Fong, the Warriors collected 54 digs in the contest. Hinrichs had 10 of her match-high 19 digs in the third see-saw third set, while Fong finished with 11 digs.
“I thought our defense played well and overall we played well, but not extremely well,” Greeny said.
Junior outside hitter Kelli Tikker had another solid match for the Warriors. She finished with a game-high 12 kills, four service aces, five digs, and she started a number of rallies as she received 18 Carroll serves. Junior middle blocker Nicole Graybeal added nine kills and two block assists, while Deddiy Alaimaleata had eight kills and two block assists.
In front of a crowd of 1,124 on Pack the Gym Night, the Warriors were able to grab a 12-8 lead in the first set, but Carroll scored the next six points for a 14-12 advantage. The contest remained close before the Warriors went on a run for a 21-17 lead. Carroll couldn’t get closer than two the rest of the way.
The second set was all LCSC. The Warriors led 14-4 and 17-6 in cruising to the win, but the third game was close the entire way with ties at 8, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 before Carroll grabbed leads for 23-21 and 24-22. Despite having two opportunities to close out the match, Carroll was unable to do so and the Warriors scored the final four points for the sweep.
The Warriors hit .233 for the match, compared to .116 for Carroll, and had a 10-2 advantage in service aces. Lauryn Herrick and Alyssa Wold finished with two aces apiece.
Haylee Otteson led Carroll with 10 kills and three block assists.
The Warriors will be back in action on Saturday when they entertain No. 21-ranked Rocky Mountain in FC play at 2 p.m. at the Activity Center. Saturday’s match is designated as Dollar Day with admission, hot dogs, and soda all costing $1 apiece.
