FULLERTON, Calif. –The Lewis-Clark State College volleyball team hit the road for the first time in 2016 and were tested early and often on the first day of the Hope International University Labor Day Classic at the Darling Pavilion on Friday.
 
The Warriors, who received votes in the preseason coaches' poll, dropped the first match, 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-23, 28-26) to The Master's University (Calif.) before losing in four to 19th-ranked Biola University (Calif.), 19-25, 25-13, 25-19, 25-16.
 
Against the Mustangs, who are also receiving votes, in the first match of the day, LCSC dropped the first set 25-18 before seeing the next three games decided by a total of six points with TMU winning two of three.
 
Lewis-Clark State won the second set 25-23, but unforced errors cost the Red and Blue in the final two. Offense was the difference in the games as the Mustangs hit .383 in the match compared to just a .220 mark for the Warriors who committed 24 attack errors.
 
"The team that makes the least errors is usually going to win the match," said Harris-Alexander. "But it's more than the number of mistakes we had it's when we are committing them. We had too many unforced errors late in the sets when it really counted."
 
The Warriors continued to block well, tallying eight in the contest, but six service errors and 11 receiving errors did in LCSC.
 
In set one, TMU maintained a slim margin for most of the set with LC drawing even at eight and 14, but a trio of three-point runs late in the game gave the Mustangs the 1-0 advantage.
 
Set two saw LCSC take control early thanks to a four-point run. The Warriors maintained a slim lead until TMU went ahead 17-16. The teams traded side-outs until a four point run for LC, punctuated by a Stephanie Ovitz kill, gave the Warriors set point. TMU made it close, but another Ovitz kill evened the match at 1-1.
 
The teams traded long runs and side-outs in set three with neither team taking real control until TMU used a three-point run to set point, 24-22. A Kennadie Clute kill drew LC to within one, but a service error gave the Mustangs the match lead, 2-1.
 
In the decisive fourth set, LCSC displayed a lot of heart and toughness in a heart-wrenching 28-26 defeat. The Warriors used a five-point run early to take a 5-2 lead, but The Master's answered by scoring 15-of-19 points to take control 17-9. Instead of folding, LCSC scored nine of the next 11 points to cut the lead to one, 19-18. An attack error gave TMU set point, 24-21, but a pair of Mustang's miscues paired with an Ovitz service ace and a Clute kill put LC on top, 25-24. Unfortunately The Master's scored four of the final five points for the win.
 
Clute finished the match with a team-high 12 kills with Ovitz adding 11. Katie Barton had a team-best .400 attack percentage to go with eight kills. Amber Hillestad tallied a team-high 12 digs and 20 assists with Justine Cota leading the defense with four blocks.
 
In the nightcap, LCSC took on No. 19 Biola and took advantage of the Eagles' .041 attack percentage to take set one, but BU bounced back to take the final three sets for the match win.
 
The Warriors tallied seven blocks, besting their opponent in that category for the fifth time in six tries in 2016. LCSC accomplished the same feat just 17 times in 33 matches last season.
 
Five of the Warriors seven blocks came in the first set and helped contribute to the 10 attack errors by the Eagles. LCSC committed just four such errors while hitting .214 in the set. The key sequence came with LC down 15-14. Back-to-back kills by Clue and Ovitz put the Warriors in front, 16-15, and three straight Biola errors, including a Maya Williamson block, put the Warriors up four. LCSC won the final five points in part to a trio of blocks; two from Rachel Gregg and Cota, and one from Ovitz.
 
The Biola offense turned around in the second set as the Eagles hit .586 with zero attack errors. The Eagles jumped out to a 10-3 lead which LC widdled down to three by scoring five of the next six points. BU answered by outscoring LCSC 14-6 the rest of the way.
 
In the third set, the Warriors offense struggled to a -.029 attack percentage as Biola took a 2-1 match lead with a 25-19 victory.
 
Set four saw both teams hit over .300 with LCSC hitting .308 while Biola hit .345, but the Eagles opened the scoring on a 10-4 run, a hole the Warriors couldn't recover from.
 
Clute again had a team-high 11 kills with Gregg adding eight while Cota led the team with a .400 attack percentage to go with eight kills. Four players registered double-digit digs led by Ovitz with 12. Gregg led the defense at the net with four blocks and Hillestad had 22 assists.
 
"We had an unfortunate injury to our libero, Natalie (Batiste), early in the first set of the day and her status moving forward is unknown," said Harris-Alexander. "However, Stephanie (Ovitz) and Jordan (Phelan) both stepped up and played outstanding in the back for us. While the injury changed our flow, we have to refocus, stay together and stay committed to our goals and overcome an emotional day."
 
The Warriors, who are now 2-4 on the season, will wrap up the HIU Labor Day Classic on Saturday, Sept. 3 against No. 9 Vanguard (2 p.m.) and host Hope International (6 p.m.). Live coverage of the matches can be found here.