BUTTE, Montana – The No. 24 Lewis-Clark State Volleyball team concluded the regular season on Saturday will loss to the No. 17 Montana Tech Orediggers. The Diggers swept past the Warriors by scores of 26-24, 25-16, 25-19.
"This year as a whole has shown massive growth in the right direction," coach Shaun Pohlman said. "However, this week shows this program, as long as it has been away from the top and in the national spotlight, we aren't ready for that pressure, yet. There is no play experience or history to utilize and draw from that level, yet."
A service ace by Josilyn Remick got the match started, and a kill by Sydney Lawrence kept LC in front 4-3. An attack error grew the lead to two at 8-6 and a block by Channa Hart and Morgan Ness made it a three-point differential at 10-7. A Tech service error sparked a four-point Warrior rally that put LC State ahead 14-9, and a kill by Tori Edwards pushed it to 15-9. The Orediggers battled to even the set 16-16, but back-to-back LC points gave the Warriors an 18-16 lead. Edwards kept it at two with a big swing at 19-17, and Carli Berntson followed with a kill of her own. A tip from Hart out of the reach of the Tech defense fell in to make it 22-18, and Ness threw one down at 23-20. The Diggers evened the set 23-23, but LC State fought off a set point to tie it 24-24. Tech took the set 26-24.
The Warriors opened the second set with the first three points. The Diggers answered with one before Brooke Kaawa went back-to-back to make it 5-1. Montana Tech rallied to take a 6-5 lead to gain momentum and grow their advantage to 20-13. They took the set 25-16.
Tech struck first in the third set of the match, opening play with two points. The Warriors evened the set 6-6, but the Diggers pulled back in front 10-6. Tech took the set 25-19.
Kaawa led the Warriors with 10 kills in the regular-season finale. Jess Ruffing had 20 assists and Gionni Brown tallied 19 digs.
"All year we have had our team get into situations they struggled in last year and they have led and advised the team through them," Pohlman said. "This is literally new territory for every member on this team at this level and we will do our best without that experience to navigate through the storm.
"We have done it this year already so there is always a chance, but the players on this team are going to have to block out the 'what ifs' and commit to a collective vision greater than their individual thoughts, regardless of the current situation," he explained.
The Warriors now await the conclusion of the match between Rocky Mountain College and No. 19 Providence to determine their seeding in the Frontier Conference Tournament. They will head to Great Falls, Mont. next weekend for matches on Friday and Saturday.
