LEWISTON, Idaho – The Warriors faced a tough opponent in No. 23 Bushnell on Friday night, and despite a hard-fought third set, the Beacons swept LC 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 30-28).
 
"The team that has been playing and practicing the last three weeks did not show up tonight, and it's disappointing because what we displayed tonight was not indicative of this team's ability," Head Coach Shaun Pohlman said.
 
Though the Warriors did not come out of Friday night's match with a victory, LC has reason to celebrate. Regardless of Saturday's outcome, LC State Volleyball's bid for a conference tournament berth is very much alive.
 
"I'm frustrated because I wanted us to earn our way to the postseason," Pohlman said. "A loss tonight makes it feel like we didn't do that, even though it looks like we have a strong chance at making it to the tournament. That said, I suppose that is why it is important to look at the big picture.
 
"The question is whether we did enough to make the postseason, and I am thinking we did that. We should rejoice in that and move on because, at the end of the day, we get to play tomorrow and hopefully get to compete in the Cascade Conference postseason for the first time in program history."
 
Bushnell took an early 4-2 lead, but attack errors by the Beacons evened the score 4-4. A service ace by Kierstyn York kept things tied at 6-6, but a run by BU put LC behind 16-9. The Beacons kept the momentum to take the set 25-17.
 
The Beacons continued to roll in the second set with a 6-1 advantage. Another 6-1 run pushed the margin to 13-5, but a kill and two aces by Grecia Ung Enriquez cut the deficit to five at 15-10. A kill by Cassidy Nelson and an ace by Kenzie Dean made it a 16-13 game, but Bushnell rallied to end it 25-18.
 
LC State came out firing in the third set, sparked by back-to-back kills from Ung Enriquez and Jada Wyms. A swing by Tori Edwards gave the Warriors a 3-1 advantage before the two teams traded kills to push the score to 6-4 in favor of LC State. The Warriors went on a 5-0 run with a pair of blocks by Wyms and Ung Enriquez and a kill by Wyms to stretch the lead to 13-7, but the Beacons answered with six straight to even the score 14-14.
 
Kills by Wyms and Nelson put the Warriors back in front 18-15, and a run of five with kills by Channa Hart, Nelson and Edwards pushed the advantage to 22-16. Bushnell fought off four set-points to tie things up 24-24 and the conference opponents battled into extra points. Ung Enriquez, Wyms and Nelson all tallied kills deep into the set, but the Beacons came out on top 30-28.
 
Nelson led LC State with 10 kills and Ung Enriquez added eight. Hannah Martinez dished out 14 assists, Jess Ruffing added 10 and Dean had four. Dean led the defense with 10 digs and Ung Enriquez and Wyms each had two blocks.
 
The Warriors host No. 7 Corban on Saturday night at 5 p.m., and will celebrate seniors Ruffing, Edwards and Lexi Trowbridge prior to the match. Tickets and streaming packages are available at lcwarriors.com.
 
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