LEWISTON, Idaho – The LC State Volleyball team improved to 5-3 on the season after two dominant wins over Multnomah on Saturday. The Warriors faced the Lions in back-to-back matches as part of the Cascade Conference's revised schedule, and came away with two 3-0 victories (25-12, 25-14, 25-18 and 25-22, 25-15, 25-19). Chloe Emory led LC with 22 kills on the day, 11 in each match. Jada Wyms put up eight blocks in the second match, which is tied for fourth-best in a three-set match.
 
"I was a little worried after an emotional win the night before that we might come out flat, but we did really well in the first match which was great to see," Head Coach Shaun Pohlman said. "In the second match, Multnomah really put up an emotional fight and never backed down and put our team in a corner but I was proud of how our kids responded and finished out the weekend strong."
 
MATCH ONE: LC State def. Multnomah 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-18)
The Warrior women built their lead quickly in the first set. Three kills by Wyms and one by Emory were aided by Multnomah errors to give LC a 9-5 advantage. Tori Edwards slammed down three kills before blocks by her and Wyms amounted to a five-point run to make it 17-8. Another five-point rally pushed the lead to 22-10 before Emory ended the set 25-12.
 
Wyms sparked a big seven-point span that was capped by a kill by Hallie Seaman to give LC a 15-6 advantage. Carli Berntson made it a 10-point difference off an assist from Jess Ruffing (21-11), and back-to-back kills by Hannah Martinez and Wyms ended set two.
 
Kills from Ruffing and Edwards, followed by an ace by Ashlee Bachman, got the Warriors off to a strong start in the third (5-2). Multnomah kept it close until three errors by the Lions widened the gap to 18-11. Kills from Martinez and Emory pushed the set to 21-12 and an ace by Kenzie Dean finished the match with a 25-18 set victory.
 
Edwards led the Warriors with 14 kills in the first match on a .400 attack percentage. Emory had 11 (.476) and Wyms added nine (.389). Martinez and Ruffing dealt 20 and 15 assists, respectively. Bachman led the team with 10 digs and Wyms had four blocks.
 
MATCH TWO: LC State def. Multnomah 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-19)
The Lions bounced back well in the second match, even taking the lead multiple times before a late seven-point run put the Warriors back in front. Trailing 21-17, Edwards and Emory brought LC within one and Wyms and Martinez put up a block to tie the set 21-21. Kills by Emory and Wyms made it a 24-21 lead, and Emory ended the set with a kill at 25-22.
 
LC carried the momentum into set two with a four-point run that was capped by two service aces by Bachman. Another run of four grew the advantage to 11-5, and a five-point rally pushed the score to set point (24-14). Three LC points in the run came from blocks, all of which included Wyms, and Emory ended the set with a kill at 25-15.
 
The Warriors answered an opening point by the Lions with five straight, including two more blocks. LC held a slim lead until four Multnomah errors grew the Warrior lead, and an ace by Edwards and kill by Wyms made it 23-14. A kill by Martinez and a Multnomah error ended the match.
 
Emory led LC with 11 kills in the second match, and Wyms added seven. Martinez dealt 19 assists and Dean had 16 digs. Wyms led the defense with eight blocks which is tied for fourth-most in a three-set match. Martinez assisted on four blocks.
 
LC State will head to No. 13 Corban for its first away matches of the season on March 19 and 20. They host College of Idaho on March 26 and 27 in the final home match of the season, and end the regular season on April 2 and 3 at No. 9 Eastern Oregon.
 
"We have some prepping to do to be ready to compete with Corban, College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon who are all nationally prominent programs," Pohlman said. "The team is looking forward to having fans back in the gym on March 26 and 27."

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