GREAT FALLS, Mont. –The Lewis-Clark State College volleyball team traveled to the McLaughlin Center on the campus of the University of Great Falls for the first round of the Frontier Conference tournament, expecting to extend what has been a difficult season and end on a high note.
It wasn't to be on Friday night, as the Warriors saw their season come to an end with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-10, 25-16) loss to Montana Tech. LCSC, the tournament's seventh seed, entered the game as the underdog, but the Warriors split the season series with the second seeded and 25th-ranked Butte, Mont. squad. As it turned out, all three matches resulted in 3-0 sweeps, with the Orediggers winning the season series 2-1.
The aggressive service of Montana Tech kept the Warriors' offense on its heels most of the night, resulting in a season-low hitting percentage (-.104). It's the first time LCSC has had a negative attack percentage since hitting -.010 against Davenport (Mich.) on Sept. 6, 2014. Tech capitalized on the LCSC struggles, hitting .346 in the match.
"We prepared really well all week and had a great game plan coming in, we just couldn't execute," said Warriors Head Coach
LaToya Harris-Alexander. "Montana Tech played really well offensively and they served us aggressively. We weren't able to adjust and our serve receive never got on track. It was a tough night offensively for us and Tech took advantage."
The Orediggers opened the match on a 4-1 run, with the lone LC tally coming from a Tech service error. In fact,
Aly Sauer was the first Warrior to score a point, tallying a kill to make the score 9-6. LC State kept the deficit at three until a pair of Tech kills and a service ace made it 17-11. A
Kennadie Clute kill ended the 3-0 run, but the Orediggers took the next six points, which included three LC errors, to take a 23-12 lead en route to a 25-15 win.
A service error by the Orediggers gave LC the early lead in set two, but three straight blocks by Tech highlighted an 11-1 run to put LC in a nine point hole. LCSC captured five of the next eight points to cut the deficit to seven, 14-7, but the Orediggers won 11 of the final 14 points for a 25-10 win.
Kills by
Alexa Van Vleet and
Rachel Gregg highlighted the start of the third set as the Warriors jumped out to a 4-1 lead. The Orediggers captured the next five points thanks to four straight Warrior miscues. A Van Vleet kill and a Tech error tied the score at six and the Warriors followed a four-point Tech run with a 3-0 run of their own to pull within one, 10-9. The teams traded two-point runs before the Orediggers pulled away. Tech scored 13 of the final 18 points for the match win.
Lewis-Clark State tallied just 14 kills, led by Clute's five. Gregg tallied eight of the Warriors' 29 digs to go with three kills.
"The attacks we had tonight were out of system and they knew where the ball as going to go," said Harris-Alexander. "They are also a good blocking team and when we are out of system it allows the opponent to set the block and play in rhythm offensively. We did a nice job on their main players tonight, but they had others step up."
The loss ends the Warrior careers for three seniors, Clute,
Stephanie Ovitz and
Amber Hillestad. Clute ends her career as one of the best outside hitters in program history while all three made an impact on the program.
"Those three ladies are amazing leaders and really helped this team grow together," said Harris-Alexander. "Volleyball is a small moment in their lives, but they've made memories and learned skills they can take with them after they graduate."
LCSC finishes the season 8-15.The Warriors got off to a hot start, but injuries and inconsistent play plagued the team all season.
"It's tough to lose this way," said Harris-Alexander. "This was a tough season to start the way we did and have things turn the way they did. It was hard to get out of our funk, but I'm proud of this team. They really bonded together and became a family and they were a fun group to coach."
The Orediggers improve to 21-8 and advance to the Frontier Conference semifinal where they face the winner of Rocky Mountain College and Montana Western on Saturday afternoon.
