LEWISTON, Idaho – The Lewis-Clark State volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 (25-11, 25-14, 25-11) sweep of the Walla Walla University Wolves on Friday afternoon to extend its home winning streak to six matches. The Warriors were efficient on offense with a .507 attack percentage as a team. With the victory, they improve to 9-5 on the season.
"There were moments where I thought we were slower than we should've been," coach
Shaun Pohlman said, "but the second we addressed it, it was way better. It was nice to see the team respond in that situation."
LC State opened the match with 10-straight points.
Jess Ruffing dealt two service aces in the run and
Tori Edwards added three kills. Kills by
Sydney Lawrence and Edwards extended the large advantage to 14-2 before a
Carli Berntson kill and
Brooke Kaawa ace made it 18-4. A run of three with kills by
Jordan Hunter and Lawrence grew the lead to 23-8, and Kaawa ended the set with a kill at 25-11.
Walla Walla turned the tables in the beginning of the second set and jumped out to a 7-2 lead. The Warriors responded with an eight-point rally to take a 10-7 lead that they would hold for the rest of the set. The Wolves pulled within one at 12-11 before a kill by Hunter sparked a quick five-point run. Hunter capped the run with a kill to put LC in front 17-11. LC State eased through the rest of the set for a 25-14 victory.
With the help of kills by
Josye Miller and Elder, the Warriors opened set three with a 6-1 run. Back-to-back kills by
Morgan Ness made it 9-2, and a four-point rally featuring kills by
Channa Hart, Edwards and Ness brought the score to 12-3. A Lawrence ace moved the lead to 10 at 13-3. The Wolves had no answer to the Warrior offense and quickly fell behind by 14 at 22-8. A kill by Ruffing brought the score to match point and Elder put it away at 25-11.
Edwards led LC State with eight kills in the match, followed by Elder with seven. Ruffing dished out 26 assists and
Gionni Brown tallied 11 digs.
The Warriors open their final season of Frontier Conference play on Thursday when they host MSU-Northern at 7 p.m. in the Activity Center. Providence is in town next Saturday, Sept. 21, for a 2 pm. match.
