HUNTINGTON, Ind. – The Lewis-Clark State Volleyball team is off to its best start since 2010 with a 4-0 record after four sweeps in Indiana. On the final day of the Forester Invitational, the Warriors defeated host Huntington (Ind.) (25-18, 25-13, 25-21) and Saint Ambrose (Iowa) (25-20, 25-20, 25-14) in straight sets.
 
"It was great to be able to see where we stack up against someone besides ourselves," Head Coach Shaun Pohlman said. "We were able to see where we're strong, where we're weak, and give us a better picture of some long-term planning and preparation."
 
The caliber of opponents increased in Saturday's matches, which is something the team prepared for.
 
"We wanted to come in with a certain game plan, and we talked about what we were going to do and what the plan was," Pohlman explained. "We kind of had a slow start against Huntington, but we got over the course of the day and made some adjustments. We are really, really happy to be able to get out there and play again. I think that sentiment is shared amongst the team."
 
Freshman Grecia Ung Enriquez tallied double-digit kills in both matches with 11 in the first and 10 in the second. She had at least 10 kills in three of the four matches over the weekend.
 
MATCH ONE: LC State def. Huntington 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-21)
LC State erased a five-point deficit in the first set and rallied to earn the victory to start the day. Back-to-back kills by Ung Enriquez and Channa Hart kept the Warriors within one early in the set at 5-4. The Forester lead grew, but three straight kills by Cassidy Nelson, Ung Enriquez and Carli Berntson brought LC back in the set at 11-9 and forced an HU timeout. Jada Wyms cut the deficit to just one at 11-10.
 
A big block by Bertnson and Ung Enriquez sparked a five-point rally that put LC State in front on a kill by Berntson. Another kill by the right side had the Warriors in front by two, 17-15, and a pair of points from Nelson and Hart kept the momentum going at 18-16. Tori Edwards slammed a ball down on an assist from Hannah Martinez to grow the advantage to three and force another Huntington timeout.
 
Hart kept the Warriors going out of the timeout. A kill by Jada Wyms and a block by Wyms and Nelson pushed the score to set point before a Forester error ended the first frame at 25-18.
 
 LC continued to carry the momentum in the second set with a kill by Wyms and an ace by Jess Ruffing to take a 2-0 lead. A service ace by Kenzie Dean kept the Warriors in front by a slim margin at 5-4 and Ung Enriquez went back-to-back to make it a three-point run. A block and kill by Wyms brought the score to 13-9 in favor of LC State.
 
A run of three put LC up by nine at 19-10 before a kill by Hallie Seaman made it 22-11. Back-to-back HU errors ended the set at 25-13 to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Wyms and Ung Enriquez started the third set with back-to-back kills, and another kill by the freshman kept LC ahead by two at 7-5. Hart spiked an overpass to keep the Warriors rolling, but Huntington mounted a rally to take a 10-9 lead.
 
Ung Enriquez evened the set with a kill, and Nelson and Wyms went back-to-back to do the same at 12-12. Nelson slammed down two straight kills at 14-14 before a Forester error put the Warriors ahead by one. Another error and a kill by Berntson fueled a five-point run that saw the LC lead grow to 17-14 and force an HU timeout.
 
The Warriors took advantage of more Forester errors out of the break to maintain the three-point lead. Ung Enriquez tallied a pair of kills to push the advantage to 22-18 but HU battled back to within one at 22-21. LC responded with three straight, including an ace from Ung Enriquez, to take the set 25-21 and end the match.
 
Ung Enriquez led the match with 11 kills on a .478 attack percentage. Wyms added six kills and two blocks. Ruffing dealt a team-leading 16 assists and Martinez added 10. On defense, Dean tallied 10 digs and Berntson had three blocks.
 
MATCH TWO: LC State def. Saint Ambrose 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-14)
A pair of kills by Ung Enriquez gave the Warriors a 3-2 advantage before a block by Hart and Berntson and a kill by Hart combined for a five-point rally to build momentum in the opening set. Saint Ambrose rallied to come within one at 8-7, but kills by Hart and Nelson pushed the margin back to three a 10-7. Katie Rainville added an ace to make it a three-point run for LC State.
 
Ung Enriquez sparked a short LC rally with a kill before two Warrior blocks forced a Saint Ambrose timeout at 17-10. LC maintained the strong lead throughout the set as a kill by Wyms pushed the score to set point at 24-17. Berntson ended the set at 25-20 with a massive swing.
 
The Warriors took the lead to begin the second set on a kill by Ung Enriquez before the freshman teamed up with Wyms on a block. The Bees took a 5-4 lead before an ace by Rainville put LC back in front 7-6 and a back and forth battled ensued.
 
A kill by Edwards and back-to-back Bee errors gave the Warriors a two-point cushion at 17-15, and another error made it a three-point advantage of 19-16. A serve by Ung Enriquez scraped over the net and fell to end the set 25-20.
 
Wyms gave LC a 4-3 advantage in the third frame off an assist from Ruffing. Berntson and Ung Enriquez joined in for two straight kills and an ace by Dean capped the four-point burst at 8-3. Hart notched two kills on assists from Martinez, and Nelson made it three LC points in a row at 13-5. Points by Wyms and Edwards grew the lead to 17-7 to force a Saint Ambrose timeout.
 
Errors by the Bees made it a 10-point game at 20-10 and the Warriors grew the margin to 11 (23-12) on a kill by Edwards. She ended the match with a kill on an assist from Martinez with a final score of 25-14 to complete the sweep.
 
Ung Enriquez notched her third double-digit kills match of the season with 10 on a .348 attack percentage. She added seven digs and three service aces to her day. Wyms tallied seven kills with a team-leading .500 attack percentage, while Edwards and Hart each had six kills.
 
Ruffing dealt 16 assists and Martinez added 14. Dean posted a season-high 16 digs and Ruffing had nine. Hart held it down at the net with three blocks.
 
LC State continues non-conference play next weekend when the Warriors travel to Arizona for the Firestorm Volleyball Classic. LC will open the tournament on Aug. 27 against Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) at 2 p.m. PT before facing off with Valley City State (N.D.) at 6 p.m. PT.
 
"It's a quick turnaround to next weekend, but we are looking forward to another week of preseason play to help us get ready for conference," Pohlman said.
 
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