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This Week in Warrrior Athletics: Key volleyball match Friday
GOLF – Final round (18 holes) of Carroll Invitational, Tuesday, Sept. 18, at Bill Roberts Golf Course, Helena, Mont.
VOLLEYBALL – vs. Westminster, Friday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m., LCSC Activity Center.
WAA FUNCTION – 6-7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 21, LCSC Activity Center Conference room.
CROSS COUTRY – At Bob Firman Invitational, Boise, Saturday, Sept. 22, 9 a.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Riding a six-match win streak, the Warriors square off against rival Westminster in a 7 p.m. match Friday at the Activity Center.
After the first week of Frontier Conference play, the Warriors are tied with Montana Tech and Westminster atop the standings at 2-0. LCSC is 8-2 overall, its best start since the 2001 season, while Westminster is 9-4 and ranked No. 8 in last week’s NAIA poll.
Despite sweeping No. 22 Great Falls and Montana State-Northern last week at home, the Warriors remained No. 7 in the Region I rankings on Monday, while Great Falls, which also lost to Westminster, remained at No. 3.
LCSC has used a balanced attack to win 18 of 19 games during its win streak. In the win over Great Falls, LCSC had five players post at least six kills, while six players had at least six in the win over MSU-Northern.
Cintia Alessi, a junior, leads Region I in kills per game at 3.7, while senior Brittney Kubik leads in blocks at 1.7 per game, which ranks No. 14 in the nation. Kubik also is 30th nationally in hitting percentage at .364.
Junior Julie Maciboba tops the team in aces with 16, while sophomore Lisa Davis has 15 aces and is the assist leader with 200. Junior Mindy Meyer has 171 assists.
Alessi leads the team in digs with 145, while junior Lindsay Scott has 127. Kubik has 80 kills, followed by Maciboba with 75.
As a team, the Warriors rank No. 20 in the NAIA in blocks per game at 3.00, and are No. 22 and No. 25, respectively, in kills per game (14.39) and assists per game (12.88). The team is hitting .238, which ranks No. 32 in the country.
Westminster was picked along with Great Falls as the co-favorites to win the conference title this year by the league’s coaches. Westminster won the conference tournament last year and is the highest ranked Region I team.
LCSC was picked to finish sixth in the conference this year, but has been impressive early in the season under first-year coach Jennifer Greeny.
“We have a tough test ahead of us,” Greeny says. “Westminster is a good, experienced team with a fantastic coach. We will have to play with a lot of energy and hopefully our fans can come and make a difference. We will need the home-court advantage.”
CROSS COUNTRY
The Warrior women’s team will look to make a strong statement Saturday when the Warriors take part in the Bob Firman Invitational at Eagle Island State Park in Eagle, Idaho, just outside of Boise.
The LCSC men are off this week after two strong showings.
Saturday will be the first women’s competition in three weeks and Coach Mike Collins says this meet could say a lot about his team.
“This will be a good test to see where we stand in the region and nationally,” Collins says. “Currently we are ranked No. 13 (in the NAIA), but No. 18 Albertson will be there along with Northwest University and Eastern Oregon, both of which are receiving votes.”
The Warriors are the ranked third in Region I behind Simon Fraser and the University of British Columbia, who are ranked No. 1 and No. 9, respectively, in the NAIA poll.
“I know the girls are chomping at the bit to race,” Collins says. “We’re a little dinged up right now with some injuries, but ready to go nonetheless.”
The Warrior men had a solid showing with a second-place finish in the Open Division at the Sundodger Invitational in Seattle. The men are the top-ranked Region I team and are a program-best No. 7 in the NAIA.
“This past weekend answered a lot of questions on the men's side of things,” Collins says. “I believe we have helped to solidify our spot in the top 10 with our performance, but it is always a precarious spot, both with how you run, and that everyone else is out to get you. The men are off this week, but in two weeks travel to Salem where we will match up against many other ranked NAIA schools, including the current No. 2 team in the country, Aquinas. A good race there could mean a little history making for us.”
WAA VOLLEYBALL FUNCTION
Prior to LCSC’s volleyball match on Friday, the Warrior Athletic Association will hold a function for all of its members who give $250 or more a year to the association.
The event kicks off at 6 p.m. in the upstairs conference room of the Activity Center with snacks and drinks. Then after the match, the Warrior team and coaches will join WAA members for a post-match dessert, again in the conference room.
For more information on the event or to become a WAA member, contact Cindi Durgan at either cfdurgan@lcsc.edu or 792-2692.
GOLF
The Warrior men’s and women’s golf teams will wrap up play in the Carroll Invitational on Tuesday with the final 18 holes at the Bill Roberts Golf Course in Helena, Mont.
The first 36 holes were played on Monday.
The tournament is one of five held during the season that will help determine the conference champions. The team scores from all five tournaments are added together to determine the champions.
Last season, the men’s team won the conference title for the second straight year, while the women were second to Rocky Mountain.
The third and final conference tournament of the fall season will be held on Sunday and Monday, Sept. 22-23, when Rocky Mountain plays host to the 54-hole event in Billings.
The other two conference tournaments will be played in the spring, including April 14-15 at the Lewiston Golf and Country Club.
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