LEWISTON, Idaho – The Lewis-Clark State Volleyball team set the record for assists in a five-set match in a gritty battle with Oregon Tech on Friday. After dropping the first match 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 26-24), the Warriors stepped up their offensive efforts for a 3-2 (31-29, 16-25, 28-30, 25-16, 20-18) victory in the second contest of the day. LC put up figures that sit in the record book's top 10 in kills (81) and assists (78).
 
"We've been talking all year about grit and persevering through tough times," Head Coach Shaun Pohlman said, "and we talk about that it is in you, but you just have to cultivate it and you have to be in opportunities to be able grow. Today we were in an opportunity to cultivate it, and we lost by two, then in the afternoon we were in the opportunity to win show grit and we were able to pull through. I think that our team needed that. They needed that smidgen of belief and hope and understanding of a direction they could go, and now they know what to work for."
 
Junior Jada Wyms was unstoppable in the victory with 23 kills on 42 attempts (.452). Chloe Emory tallied 18, and Tori Edwards and Carli Berntson had 15 and 14, respectively.
 
MATCH ONE: Oregon Tech def. LC State 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 26-24)
The Owls came out hot and opened the first match of the day with five straight points. Another five-point rally put OIT ahead 10-1 and put them in control. LC cut the deficit to four (19-15) with a kill from Berntson, but another run by Oregon Tech ended the set.
 
Trailing 5-2 in set two, the Warriors put up four straight with two kills from Berntson and a block by Berntson and Wyms. OIT held a small lead throughout the set before closing it out 25-22.
 
LC State forced extra points in the third set after opening the frame with four points. A kill by Emory and an ace by Ashlee Bachman pushed the lead to 8-4, and a pair of kills by Berntson fueled a four-point run to make it 15-10. OIT tied the set 19-19 before LC used three straight kills by Edwards to pull ahead 23-20, but a 6-1 run by the Owls ended the match.
 
Edwards led the Warriors with 10 kills, while Berntson tallied nine.
 
MATCH TWO: LC State def. Oregon Tech 3-2 (31-29, 16-25, 28-30, 25-16, 20-18)
It took a combined 26 extra points, with three of the five sets going over the typical scoring totals, and nearly two and a half hours, but the Warriors prevailed to take the second match in five sets. They made a dent in the record book in the process and tied the third-highest kill total (81) in program history. The 78 assists dished out is second all-time, and the most in a five-set match.
 
LC came out firing on all cylinders in the first set. Kills from Emory and Channa Hart got the momentum going, and one from Berntson and a pair from Emory gave the Warriors a 6-3 advantage. OIT responded with a rally to jump in front 12-7, but kills by Edwards gave LC a 20-19 lead. The teams locked up 23-23 before a kill from Edwards and an OIT error gave LC a 31-29 set win.
 
OIT turned the tables in the second set and raced out to 7-2 lead. The Owls continued to dominate the set and closed it out 25-16. The Warriors fought back in the third to force extra points yet again. A kill by Wyms was followed by three straight aces by Edwards to put LC in front 7-5, and swings from Hart and Wyms made it 14-11. The Owls crept back and rallied for five late to take a 23-20 lead before two kills from Wyms and an ace by Edwards gave the Warriors a 25-24 advantage. Three straight by OIT ended the set 30-28.
 
The Warriors reversed the second-set score in the fourth with a 25-16 victory. LC State was all gas, no breaks in the frame after taking a 10-6 lead. A kill by Berntson sparked a six-point run that included two blocks by Bernston and Wyms and a kill by setter Jess Ruffing to make it 17-10, and another run of six gave LC a solid 23-11 lead. Two service errors put the set away and sent the game to the deciding fifth.
 
LC had all the momentum heading into the final set. A kill by Berntson put the Warriors ahead 4-2, and back-to-back points from Ruffing and Wyms made it 6-3. OIT kept it close before overtaking LC 15-14. The back-and-forth continued until Edwards ended the game with a kill on an assist from Kenzie Dean.
 
Wyms posted an impressive 23 kills on a .452 attack percentage, while Emory added 18. Edwards added 15 to the team's total and Berntson had 14. Hannah Martinez dished out a career-high 36 assists, and Ruffing dealt 30. Dean also had a career night with 10 assists and 26 digs. Kendzee Cloward aided the defense with 17 digs and Bachman had 13. Berntson led the way at the net with five blocks and Hart had four. Edwards added five service aces to her night.
 
The Warriors face Multnomah twice on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.
 
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