LEWISTON, Idaho – It was a milestone day as Lewis-Clark State College volleyball swept Northwest Christian University and won a nail-biter over the University of California-Merced to give Head Coach LaToya Harris-Alexander her 99th and 100th career victories.
 
Harris-Alexander becomes the third LCSC volleyball coach to reach the 100-win plateau, joining Kip Yoshimura (251) and Jen Greeny (112). She needs just 12 more wins to surpass Greeny for second all-time.
 
"The interesting thing is I really wasn't paying attention to it," said Harris-Alexander on the achievement. "I couldn't get it without the girls and their commitment to the program. From 2011 to now, I could not have gotten here without their effort and success. Am I happy, absolutely, but I'm more focused on this year and how we finish as opposed to my overall results."
 
The Warriors began the Red Lion Classic with a smooth victory over the Beacons of Northwest Christian, winning in three sets, 25-10, 25-16 and 25-20.
 
It was a one-sided affair as Lewis-Clark State dominated in every facet of the contest including a 44-21 margin in kills and 7-2 edge in blocks – two areas Harris-Alexander said are strengths of the 2016 squad.
 
The Warriors hit .424 in the match, led by returning NAIA All-American Kennadie Clute who tallied 13 kills on 22 attempts for a .591 attack percentage while adding six digs and some steady serving. Stephanie Ovitz added nine kills from the middle and Amber Hillestad tallied 22 of 38 assists in the win.
 
It was all Warriors in set one with LCSC compiling runs of six and seven points to open an 18-4 lead while NCU failed to score more than two consecutive points in the set.
 
The Beacons turned it around in set number two, opening a 3-0 lead and playing even with LC until Clute took over. The senior tied the match at seven with a kill and then served three straight points to give LCSC a 10-7 advantage. Northwest Christian tied the score again at 11, but three, four-point runs by LCSC pushed the lead to 23-15 before a Shaelyn Pearson ace sealed the win.
 
The third set began much like the first, with both teams trading points before Clute's serve. Four points later LCSC had an 8-6 lead. The Beacons scored the next three, but four more Warrior points made it 12-9, a lead LCSC did not relinquish. NCU got to within two, 20-22, but a pair of Stephanie Ovitz kills helped bring home the Warriors first win of 2016.
 
In the final match of the night the Warriors got a test from the Bobcats of UC-Merced in a five set thriller that saw LCSC grind out a 3-2 win (25-21, 25-15, 23-25, 22-25, 15-11).
 
The Red and Blue led big early in the opening set, using several multi-point runs to open a 14-8 margin, but the Bobcats clawed back, using a six-point run to tie the game at 14. The Warriors responded with four straight points, including a Rachel Gregg ace, which put LC ahead 18-14. UC-Merced got to within two, but a kill from Kennadie Clute and a well-timed push from setter Shaelyn Pearson put LC up 1-0.
 
In the second set, LCSC exerted its dominance, scoring 12 of the first 17 points and finished the game with five unanswered points for a 25-15 win.
 
A combined 14 attack errors, coupled with timely Bobcat blocking in the third and fourth sets knotted the match at 2-2.
 
Lewis-Clark State's offense led the way in the deciding game. LCSC hit .385 in the win with 13 kills to just seven for UCM. A Katie Barton kill got the set started in the right direction and Rachel Gregg followed with an ace for a 2-0 lead. It was a back-and-forth affair until a pair of Gregg kills broke a 7-7 tie. Barton followed with two more kills and LC opened a 12-8 lead. The Bobcats cut the margin to two, but Ovitz and Clute put the match to rest with back-to-back kills.
 
"I'm very proud of them," Harris-Alexander said about her teams' efforts today. "Trying to keep the same mindset throughout the day was tough. Merced is a great blocking team and to be able to come out and get the win, it shows our grit and heart. Regardless, we got the W."
 
The Warriors hit .310 in the match, led by Barton's .478 attack percentage and 13 kills. Clute led the Warriors with 16 kills while Ovitz added 13 and Gregg finished with 12. Hillestad and Pearson combined for 57 of LC's 68 assists and Gregg added a team-high 14 digs.
 
The win moves LCSC to 2-0 in the Red Lion Classic. The Warriors and Olivet Nazarene, who is also 2-0, will square off at 10 a.m. before playing again in the championship match at 6 p.m. Northwest Christian and UC-Merced will play at 12 p.m. and again at 3 p.m. in the third-place match.
 
Full coverage of the 2016 Red Lion Classic including stats and team info are at www.lcwarriors.com/redlionclassic.