HAVRE, Mont. – For the fifth time this season the Lewis-Clark State College volleyball team played a five set match and the Warriors are now 3-2 in such matches after dropping a heartbreaker to Montana State University-Northern at the Armory Gymnasium on Friday night.
 
The Warriors fought hard in the 3-2 loss that saw three games go extra points, losing 24-26, 25-20, 25-19, 27-29, 16-14. LCSC falls to 8-13 on the season and 3-8 in conference play with one game remaining in the regular season while MSUN moves to 6-14 overall and 5-6 in the conference.
 
"I'm proud of my team tonight, they never quit and never gave up," said Warriors Head Coach LaToya-Harris-Alexander. "I know the scoreboard says differently, but we won the match tonight. There were two calls at the end of the match that were missed that truly cost us."
 
In the final set, with the Warriors leading 10-11, a kill was awarded that should've been ruled out of bounds and the following service ace also landed out-of-bounds, but went the way of the Skylights. LCSC still had a chance at the victory as Kennadie Clute registered a pair of kills to knot the score at 13 and 14. Unfortunately, back-to-back kills by Timi Severson and Jillian Nickens gave the home team the win.
 
"My team fought hard tonight," said Harris-Alexander. "This is the best I've seen this team battle and fight for each other. They put everything they had into this match and it hurts. There were sets when we didn't perform our best and Northern played well, but when the match is decided by two wrong calls down the stretch it hurts. I feel for my players."
 
LCSC had three players tally double-digit kills, led by Clute's 18 to go along with 16 digs. Stephanie Ovitz posted 15 kills with a team-best .324 attack percentage and 12 digs while Aly Sauer added 10 kills and a team-high five blocks. Rachel Gregg impressed in the back row with 22 digs with Shaelyn Pearson adding 19 digs and 22 assists. Amber Hillestad led the way in the assist department with 29.
 
"Stephanie and Aly did outstanding tonight," said Harris-Alexander. "They were both big not only on the offensive end but also defensively. Aly was incredible at the net with five blocks tonight."
 
The first set saw the Warriors take an early 12-9 lead with a 6-0 run, only to see the Skylights cut the margin to one, 14-13, as they won four of the next six points. After LCSC stretched the margin to three, MSUN used a 10-1 scoring run to make it 23-17. The Warriors didn't quit as a Clute kill, Maya Williamson block, a Skylights error and a Pearson ace cut the deficit to two, 23-21. An LC error gave the home team set point, but another Clute kill turned the tables and the senior outside hitter served the final three points, capped by an MSUN error, for the set one victory.
 
Ten of the first 13 points in set two went to the Skylights and despite the large deficit the Warriors were able to fight back. Lewis-Clark State pulled the score even at 16 on another Clute kill, but a five-point run by MSUN made it 21-16 and Cassie Krueger, who tallied a match-high 20 kills, sealed the win with a kill.
 
Set three opened similar to the second with MSUN claiming an early 7-4 lead and LCSC responding with five straight points, which included a Clute ace, to take the lead. A 5-2 Skylights run gave them the lead, which the Red and Blue quickly reclaimed. Another Krueger kill gave MSUN the serve and sparked a 5-1 run to give the home team the lead. LCSC was able to knot the game at 17 on another Williamson block, but a 6-0 run by the Skylights was too much to overcome in the loss.
 
The script was flipped in set four as the Warriors opened the game on a 5-0 run with a pair of Ovitz kills and two blocks by Gregg. An 8-2 run by MSUN put them ahead 10-9 and LCSC responded with 6-of-8 points for a 15-12 lead. A late 10-4 run by the home team gave them match point, but two Clute kills and a Sauer block helped put the Warriors in front 25-24. After trading side-outs, Katie Barton notched a kill and an MSUN error kept the Warriors hopes alive.
 
Lewis-Clark State continued to dominate early in the fifth set, jumping out to a 7-4 lead which included a pair of kills and a service ace by Gregg. The set then tied at 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 before back-to-back kills by the home team ended the match.
 
"We've been working hard on making some changes to get ready for the conference tournament and it's tough to handle a loss like we did tonight when you leave it all on the floor," said Harris-Alexander.
 
The Warriors finished the match with 66 kills, hitting .186 with 12 blocks, 10 aces and 95 digs. The Skylights were just a tick better, hitting .202 with 62 kills, six aces, 15 blocks and 99 digs.
 
LCSC will have one more chance to change their standing in the conference when it travels to Great Falls, Mont. on Saturday to wrap up the regular season against the University of Great Falls at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available here with live video available here.