LEWISTON, Idaho - The Warriors battled tooth and nail against No. 13 Eastern Oregon University on Friday night in the Activity Center. Cassidy Nelson set a career-high in kills with 24. All four sets went back and forth with Eastern taking the match in four sets with scores of 25-22, 25-21, 23-25, and 25-22. 
 
"We're trying to get over the hump," Head Coach Shaun Pohlman. Statistically, we are playing with just about everyone in the conference so we know it isn't a talent or training/strategic issue. Both Drew (Choules) and I have experienced this hump with past programs and it's the hardest part to get through in order to take the program to another level.
 
"We have gotten better over the season so we are making strides," Pohlman added. "Every close battle where we come up short, and there have been many, goes towards our breakthrough. Everyone has a breaking point where they move themselves to another level in the sport and they don't look back. Get enough people to do that, and those close battles turn in out favor. We need to keep being resilient in this pursuit because I do believe we are close to that breakthrough."
 
The opening set saw three lead changes along with six ties early on before a 4-0 run by LC put the Warriors out in front 13-11 with a Jess Ruffing ace and a Nelson kill. The Mountaineers responded to take the lead 16-14 before LC State tied it back up at 17 on a kill from Tori Edwards. The Mounties again pulled ahead but, once again, the Warriors were able to tie the score at 21 thanks to three consecutive kills, with one from Jada Wyms and two from Nelson. EOU, however, closed out the initial set with a 4-1 run to take it 25-22. There were 12 ties in the first set.
 
LC sprang out to a 4-0 advantage in set number two before the Mounties countered with five points in a row. The Warriors grabbed the lead again at 8-7 before letting it slip away by allowing another 5-0 rally from EOU. LC State fought back to cut the Mountaineer lead to 15-13, and back to back 3-0 runs from both sides put the score at 18-16. Eastern tried to close it out with a 5-1 streak but the resilient Warrior squad would not go away quietly. Kills from Grecia Ung Enriquez, Channa Hart, and Ruffing, plus an ace from Jennah Carpenter, placed LC within striking distance once more trailing by only two at 23-21. The Mounties shut the door on the Warriors' comeback hopes to finish out set number two 25-21.
 
Just like it did in the previous set, LC started out hot which caused Eastern Oregon to call a timeout down 7-2. Soon, the Warriors doubled up on EOU 12-6 behind a Hart kill. The Mounties stampeded back with a 9-2 run to knot things up at 15 before LC State pulled back ahead 20-18 on a kill from Edwards. EOU stormed from behind to take the lead 23-20, but the inspired LC team never gave up and put the pedal to the floor on a 5-0 streak to put the Mounties away in the third set 25-23.
 
Eastern Oregon began the fourth set with a 7-4 lead. LC battled, trading side outs and eventually broke through to take the lead back 11-10. EOU answered with a 6-1 streak to regain the lead 17-13, and the Warriors did not regain the advantage the rest of the way. The Mounties took the match 3-1.
 
LC State was led by Nelson's 24 kills, Ruffing's career-high six aces, Wyms' five blocks, Hannah Martinez' 24 assists, and Kenzie Dean's 22 digs.
 
"It takes so many parts of the engine working together in unison, so when someone has an off night, or certain calls don't go your way, or you are dealing with an injury or sickness, those aspects have a larger negative impact than teams that have already made it through the hump," Pohlman explained.
 
Eastern Oregon's Breanna Shaffer led EOU with 12 kills, Cambree Scott had six blocks, 27 assists were dealt by Alexis McMurtrey, and Sade Williams and Hailey Arritola had 16 digs each.
 
LC State hosts in-state rival College of Idaho on Saturday night at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at lcwarriors.com/tickets, and links to the live stream are available on the volleyball schedule.
 
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