Women's Volleyball | 11.08.2021
LEWISTON, Idaho – Warrior Volleyball is headed to its first Cascade Conference postseason after clinching the No. 6 seed in the Cascade Conference Volleyball Championships, presented by U.S. Bank. Lewis-Clark State will take on third-seeded Oregon Tech in Klamath Falls, Ore., on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
"Anything can happen during tournament time, especially in collegiate athletics," Head Coach
Shaun Pohlman said. "Oregon Tech is a really tough team and we are going to have to play like there is no tomorrow, because these isn't if we don't."
The Warriors claimed the sixth-seed after holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over College of Idaho.
LC State fell to OIT in both meetings this season, but took three sets from the (RV) Owls. In the matchup in Lewiston, the Warriors took the first set before dropping the next three (19-25, 25-16, 25-18, 25-17). LC pushed things even further in a five-set match in Klamath Falls. The Owls won the first two sets before the Warriors battled back to take the next two before falling in the fifth (25-20, 25-19, 21-25, 27-29, 15-7).
"All the practices and prepping and coaching is done," Pohlman added. "We just need to show up and go to work."
NO. 6 LC STATE WARRIORS (16-14, 11-11)
Freshman
Grecia Ung Enriquez tallied what was then a career-high 17 kills in the second meeting between the two on Oct. 8. She also collected 14 digs to lead LC in both categories in the match.
Cassidy Nelson, the LC leader in kills per set this season, added 14 kills and
Jada Wyms had 10.
Tori Edwards led the Warriors with 11 kills in the match in Lewiston, with
Josie Peters and Nelson each adding 10.
Nelson has been the Warriors' leader in kills per set and total kills nearly all season long. The outside hitter is averaging 2.98 kills per set and also leads the team in service aces with 34.
Hannah Martinez and
Jess Ruffing have shared setter duties this season, with Martinez leading the way with 5.20 assists per set. Ruffing is averaging 4.94 per set, and the pair have dealt a combined 52 service aces.
On the defensive side,
Kenzie Dean is the highest-ranked Warrior in conference statistical categories. The junior libero is third in the CCC in digs per set (4.38) and second in total digs (473). She is second on the team in aces with 28.
At the net, Wyms leads LC State in blocks with 74 (59 assists and 15 solos).
Carli Berntson has also assisted on 59 with a total of 63.
Channa Hart, the LC leader in attack percentage (.370), has put up 60 blocks.
As a team, LC State ranks fourth in the conference in opponent attack percentage (.158), kills per set (12.5) and service aces per set (1.84). The Warriors are third in total kills (1350) and total service aces (199).
NO. 3 OREGON TECH OWLS (22-5, 18-4)
Nicole Reyes leads OIT in kills per set with an average of 3.01. She is second on the team in total kills, just one behind Kaylin Talonen (272). Oregon Tech's Ashley Ripplinger leads the CCC in attack percentage this season at .330.
Courtney Isom has handled the majority of the setter duties for OIT with a 6.39 assist per set average. Lindsey Sampson has dealt 55 service aces for the Owls.
On the defensive side, Aubrey Kievit has anchored the Oregon Tech back row all season with 4.28 digs per set. Kate Hicks has put up 61 blocks, with Faith Houck-Wylie (58) and Rippinlinger (56) not far behind.
As a team, the Owls are second in attack percentage (.236) and service aces (206).
Some of OIT's biggest victories came late in the season with four-set wins over No. 23 Bushnell and No. 12 Eastern Oregon.
THE DETAILS
The Warriors will take on the Owls on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in Klamath Falls. OIT will produce the live stream and offer live stats through oregontechowls.com.
The CCC tournament takes place Nov. 9 and 12-13, with the first round taking place at the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds' home courts. Corban then hosts the semifinal and championship matches on Friday and Saturday, with the tournament champion earning the second AQ to the NAIA National Tournament. If Corban wins the tournament, the AQ will go to the tournament runner-up.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com or on social media @LCWarriors.
