BILLINGS, Montana – The Lewis-Clark State volleyball team opened its road trip with a tough opponent in the No. 23 Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears. The Warriors were able to take a set from the defending Frontier Conference Regular Season Champions, but ultimately fell 1-3 (20-25, 17-25, 25-23, 13-25) to sit at 10-7 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
"The energy was kind of weird tonight," coach Shaun Pohlman said. "It was not what we saw in practice, and it looks like we will have to make some changes and tighten up the belt."
The Warriors saw a momentum shift in the third when freshman Kenzie Dean entered the match as the libero for the first time in her young career.
"It was exciting to see how much youth we have. That was probably the youngest team we've had out on the court all season," Pohlman said. "We had an energy and attitude shift when she (Dean) went in. We just didn't muster enough in the fourth set and kind of pulled off the gas pedal."
Brooke Kaawa put the Warriors up 2-0 with a kill in the opening set of the match, and kept LC State in from with a kill to make it 3-2. Tori Edwards and Gionni Brown added points on a kill and an ace to aid a three-point run for a 5-3 lead. After Rocky took a slim 6-5 lead, Denise Elder answered with a kill to tie the set 6-6, and a block by Elder and Carli Bernston put the Warriors back in front 7-6. It became a back-and-forth battle ensued with the score sitting at a tie multiple times before the Battlin' Bears pulled ahead with a 15-12 advantage. Rocky remained in the driver's seat for the remainder of the set for a 25- 20 win.
The Bears came out hot in the second set with four-straight points. Back-to-back kills by Kaawa killed the run to get LC on the board. Sydney Lawrence cut the deficit to 5-3 with a kill, and a block by Elder and Kaawa followed by a kill by Elder brought LC within one at 7-6. Kaawa evened things up with a well-placed tip to make it 7-7. LC State took its first lead of the set on an RMC error at 10-9, and Jordan Hunter followed with a kill to give the Warriors a two-point advantage. Rocky battled back to regain the lead at 14-12 and cruised through the rest of the set to take it 25-17.
Lawrence opened the third set with back-to-back kills, and two more from both her and Kaawa gave the Warriors a 4-2 lead early in the frame. The Battlin' Bears responded quickly to regain the lead, but a kill by Josilyn Remick and an ace by Kaawa knotted the set 7-7. The Warriors kept up with RMC, keeping the match until a Kaawa ace and Edwards kills gave LC State a 16-15 lead. A kill by Elder and an ace by Kaawa made it a four-point run to push their advantage to 18-15. Hunter sparked a short two-point rally to keep the lead at three at 20-17, but Rocky bounced back to pull within one. Edwards went back-to-back to stretch the Warrior advantage back to 22-20, and Kaawa kept the two-point cushion with a kill at 23-21. Edwards brought the score to set point, and finished it off with another to bring it home at 25-23.
Rocky bounced back in the fourth to take a commanding 5-1 lead out of the gate. Edwards and Kaawa went back-to-back to bring LC State within one at 5-4, and Edwards kept them there with another kill at 6-5. The Battlin' Bears took control of the set and pulled away to finish the match with a 25-13.
Kaawa led the Warriors with 15 kills and 13 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. She also served three aces. Edwards was right behind her with 14 kills and Remick dished out 36 assists. Brown tallied 12 digs and Kenzie Dean had 11.
The Warriors are in Dillon, Mont. on Saturday to take on Montana Western at 6 p.m. PST.
