LEWISTON, Idaho – The Lewis-Clark State volleyball team saw their home winning streak come to an end on Saturday with a loss to the No. 16 Providence Argonauts. The Argos swept the Warriors 3-0 (23-25, 23-25, 22-25) to bring LC's conference record to 1-1 and 10-6 overall.
"All of our losses have been learning opportunities," coach Shaun Pohlman said. "There's no secret, we know what it is, and it has to do with us relinquishing the lead at the end of the second set and not finishing. Every team is not going to stop fighting against us because they know we haven't been able to put the game to rest when we've been in those situations."
The Argos opened with a strong first set to take an early lead over the Warriors. A quick 9-2 run put LC in trouble early. Kills from Denise Elder and Jordan Hunter, paired with an ace by Josilyn Remick, cut the deficit to 9-5. A kill by Carli Berntson and a block by Berntson and Sydney Lawrence brought the Warriors within two at 13-11, but the Argos surged back out to a 16-11 lead. A three-point run that included a kill by Lawrence cut the deficit to one at 23-22, but UP hung on to take the set 25-23.
LC State opened set two on a 6-0 run to take an early lead. The Argos answered back to pull within one at 6-5, but a kill by Hunter gave the Warriors back some momentum. Another kill by Hunter grew the advantage to 11-6 and a big swing from Lawrence made it 13-11. A block by Berntson and Elder added to the run with a block at 15-11, and Berntson made it five-straight with a kill at 16-11. Elder and Tori Edwards teamed up at the net to deny an Argo attack, then Elder and Hunter did the same to make it 21-14. A small run by UP brought the Argos within two at 23-21 to force an LC timeout. The Argos put together another pair to tie the set 23-23 before taking the set 25-23.
The Warriors struck first in the third off of an error by the Argos. A service error by LC gave the point right back to make it 1-1. A kill by Edwards followed by two errors pushed the Warrior lead to 5-2. A kill by Morgan Ness kept LC in front at 9-6, but Providence charged back to tie the set 9-9. A kill off the block by Edwards put the Warriors ahead 10-9. Edwards went off the block again at 12-9, but UP kept the pressure up to tie things up 13-13. Edwards kept it close with a kill to keep the score tied 14-14, and a pair of errors but LC State back in front 16-14. Providence again tied the set 19-19, and an error by LC put the Argos ahead 20-19. The Warriors put up a fight, but UP took the set 25-22.
Edwards led the Warriors with 11 kills in the match and Remick dealt 14 assists. Jordan Phelan served up three aces and Gionni Brown had 20 digs. Lawrence put up four blocks to lead the Warriors.
Kelsey Shaver led the match with 17 kills and Cydney Finberg-Roberts had 15 assists. Sacha Legros tallied 17 digs.
The Warriors are on the road next week to take on No. 23 Rocky Mountain and Montana Western. They face the Battlin Bears in Billings, Mont. on Sept. 27 at 6 p.m.
