DES MOINES, Iowa – The Lewis-Clark State volleyball team split the opening day of the Grand View Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa after falling to an incredibly strong No. 24 Oklahoma City team 3-0 (25-9, 25-19, 25-17). They bounced back in their second match of the day to sweep Huntington 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-20).
Oklahoma City showed why they are one of the best teams in the nation, having lost just one match all season.
"They are No. 24 in the rankings, but I think they are the best team we have seen all season," coach Shaun Pohlman said. "I don't care what the ranking says. That team is better than 24. They serve well, pass well, play defense and block well, and it was a good experience for us to see that and know how much we have to fight."
The second match of the day was a different story as LC State dominated against Huntington. The Warriors hit .318 as a team in the sweep.
"I liked the way we responded against Huntington," Pohlman said. "The team was loose, they were having fun, and we play our best volleyball when that happens."
MATCH ONE: No. 24 Oklahoma City defeats LCSC 3-0 (25-9, 25-19, 25-17)
The Warriors opened the tournament with a tough opponent in the No. 24 Oklahoma City Stars and fell in straight sets. The Stars controlled the first set, taking a 1-0 lead in the match with a commanding 25-9 win.
LC State picked up the offense in set two after falling behind 20-9. An OKC service error sparked a six-point run by the Warriors, aided by kills from Brooke Kaawa and Carli Berntson, to pull within five at 20-15. A block by Berntson and Sydney Lawrence kept the gap at five at 21-16, but the Stars took the set 25-19.
The Warriors kept it close through the first half of the third frame, using a three-point rally with blocks from Lawrence, Denise Elder and Jess Ruffing to tie the set 6-6. Another three-point run with a Kaawa kill and block by Elder and Tori Edwards kept the score knotted 12-12. The Stars took off after that to close out the match with a 25-17 win in the third set.
Kaawa led LC with seven kills in the match. Gionni Brown had 10 digs and Ruffing dished 13 assists.
MATCH TWO: LCSC defeats Huntington 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-20)
LC State turned their momentum around in the second match of the day when they swept the Huntington Foresters 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-20). The Warriors were hot out of the gate, answering four Huntington points with four of their own on kills by Kaawa to take a 5-4 lead. The two battled back-and-forth until a four-point rally with kills by Edwards and Elder, paired with a block by Berntson and Elder, pushed the Warriors ahead by four at 19-15. A five-point run with kills by Jordan Phelan, Elder, Berntson and Ness gave LC a 25-16 win in the opening set.
A 6-2 run to open the second frame gave LC State the lead early in the set. The Foresters pulled within two at 10-8, but the Warriors responded with six-straight on kills by Ness and Elder, as well as a pair of services aces by Josilyn Remick, to push their lead back to eight at 16-8. A run of five was fueled by four Huntington errors and a Ruffing ace to give LC a commanding 23-11 advantage, before a kill by Ness ended the set at 25-13.
Huntington fought back in the third set with an 8-6 lead, but LC cut the run short with five in a row thanks to a pair of kills and a block by Berntson and an ace by Kenzie Dean to put LC up 11-8. The Foresters tied the set 18-18, but the Warriors took advantage of Huntington errors to stay in front. Back-to-back errors sealed the 25-20 win for LC in the set, giving them a 3-0 match win.
Edwards led LC with seven kills in the match, while Morgan Ness had six. Berntson was the most efficient, tallying five kills on seven swings for a .714 attack percentage. Josilyn Remick led the Warriors in assists with 16, followed closely by Ruffing with 14. Brown added 11 digs to her day.
The Warriors continue the Grand View Tournament tomorrow morning starting at 7 a.m. They open the day with St. Ambrose (Iowa) before closing out their weekend at 9:30 a.m. against Cardinal Stritch.
