HELENA, Mont. – With a .350 hitting percentage and 10 service aces the Lewis-Clark State college volleyball team stormed past Montana Tech in the opening round of the Frontier Conference Tournament on Friday. The Warriors eliminated Tech in three sets 25-21, 25-16, 25-15.
“I have to say that Montana Tech did a great job defensively,” said LCSC head coach LaToya Harris. “We were hitting the ball extremely well and a lot of times it just wouldn’t drop. Tech kept pushing hard and we had to make sure we were on top of our game.”
The win means the top-seeded Warriors, now 20-3 overall, advance to the semifinals and will face the No. 5 seed the University of Great Falls on Saturday at 10 a.m., Pacific. Great Falls ousted Westminster College in three sets on Friday 25-18, 25-20, 27-25.
The winner between LCSC and Great Falls will advance to the title match to be played at 6 p.m. on Saturday. The tournament winner receives an automatic berth to the national tournament.
LCSC defeated Great Falls twice in conference play this year, however, the second time they played the Argos were able to force the match to five sets.
“They’re a great team,” said Harris. “They’re a team that keeps the ball in and forces the other team to make errors. We’re going to have to come out ready to play.”
The Warriors, ranked No. 7 in the NAIA, were led by a big match for senior Kelli Tikker. Tikker, a 5-foot-9 outside hitter, clobbered a match-high 17 kills thanks to a .571 hitting percentage.
Senior Lauryn Herrick also had a strong match for LCSC as she added nine kills on a .350 hitting clip to go with seven service aces.
Brianne Brown and Nicole Graybeal added eight and seven kills, respectively, while Nevena Dragovic led with a season-high 41 assists with no ball handling errors.
Montana Tech, which ends the season at 7-21 overall, was led by Shersteen Cline who finished with 10 kills.
Lewis-Clark State, now riding a 14-match win streak, is pursuing its fifth straight conference tournament title.
