Junior outside hitter Lauryn Herrick had four service aces and two kills during a key stretch in the third game to power the ninth-ranked Lewis-Clark State College women’s volleyball team to a 25-11, 25-27, 25-13, 25-19 nonleague win over Whitman College at the LCSC Activity Center on Wednesday night.
The win was the 16th straight for the Warriors, who now stand 24-1 on the season. Whitman, an NCAA Division III team, falls to 8-16.
LCSC coach Jen Greeny used the match to play some of her younger players and she also rested junior middle blocker Nicole Graybeal, the Frontier Conference’s Player of the Week.
With the younger lineup, the Warriors suffered a rare game loss at home when it lost the second set. It’s only the second time LCSC has lost a game at home this season, which left the Warriors at 33-2 in such games.
Herrick made sure that the Missionaries’ didn’t come close to claiming a second game. She put down a kill to put the Warriors ahead 9-5 in the third game and shortly thereafter ran off five consecutive points serving, including four aces with her jump serve. That put LCSC ahead 16-7 and the team rolled from there.
“Lauryn kind of turned the match around for us,” LCSC coach Jen Greeny said. “She really played well, especially in the third game.”
Herrick, who didn’t play in the second game, finished with six of the team’s 15 service aces. The second-team all-conference selection from a year ago also had seven kills and hit .455 for the match.
“Tonight was a match to give the other people a chance to play and let them work through things,” Greeny said. “I thought the people who don’t normally play did a great job.”
Sophomore Brianne Brown had five kills, four block assists, and two digs to lead the non-regulars.
Junior Kelli Tikker led the Warriors with 13 kills and 12 digs, while Deddiy Alaimaleata added eight kills. Katie Hinrichs had 20 digs, while senior Kim Fong had 21 assists.
For the match, the Warriors hit .278 and had a 10-2 advantage in team blocks.
“I thought our defense played well at the end,” Greeny said. “We struggled defensively and with passing early, but we made some adjustments.”
Jillian Davis and Carrie Cecil had nine kills apiece for Whitman.
The Warriors will wrap up the regular season at home on Friday night when they play host to Westminster in Frontier Conference play. LCSC is trying to become the first team since the 1999 Warriors to go a perfect 14-0 in conference play. The contest also is Senior Night and the Warriors will honor their four seniors – Jenika Bird-Jeppsen, Demi Dlouhy, Fong, and Hinrichs – prior to the match.
LCSC will also play host to the Frontier Conference Tournament on Nov. 12-13 at the Activity Center. LCSC already has wrapped up the regular-season conference title and the No. 1 seed in the tournament and will meet No. 8 seed Montana Western at 6 p.m. on Nov. 12 in the opening round.
