LEWISTON, Idaho ­– The Warriors of Lewis-Clark State Volleyball are riding a five-match winning streak heading into a tough road trip next weekend. LC swept Multnomah by scores of 25-23, 25-20, 25-21 on Saturday night to cap the time at home and improve the team's overall record to 11-6, and 6-3 in CCC play.
 
"I am proud of the way we competed today," Assistant Coach Drew Choules said. "We played more consistently, responded well when we were pushed and fought for every point."
 
LC State tallied the first five points of the match with two aces from Josie Peters and a pair of kills by Cassidy Nelson. Multomah rallied within two at 10-8, but a four-point burst with kills by Tori Edwards and Peters, as well as an ace by Channa Hart, grew the margin to 14-8. The Lions strung together multiple runs to close within one near the end of the set, but a kill by Nelson ended the threat at 25-23.
 
Multnomah turned the tables in the beginning of the second frame to jumped out to a 7-4 advantage. With the Lions ahead 10-8, Jada Wyms sparked a four-point run, that featured an ace by Kenzie Dean, to put the Warriors back in front 13-10. After breaking a 15-15 tie with kills by Hannah Martinez and Edwards, LC held the lead for the remainder of the set and won 25-20.
 
The third set saw the lead change hands multiple times early on before the Lions went on a six-point stretch to take a 16-12 advantage. Trailing 20-15, LC mounted its comeback with a six-point rally on two aces from Dean and a kill by Hart to go ahead 21-20. A kill by Hart, followed by three straight aces by Martinez, broke a 21-21 tie and ended the set and match.
 
Jess Ruffing notched a double-double with a team-high 16 assists to go with 12 digs, and Carli Berntson led the team with eight kills. Wyms and Hart each added seven kills, and Martinez tallied 12 assists. Dean led the defense with 14 digs and had three service aces to pair with four by Martinez. Wyms was efficient with a .467 attack percentage, and Berntson was right behind at .412. Hart hit at a clip of .385.
 
"Carli blocked well all weekend which helped us defensively at the net," Choules said. "I am proud of Channa for making big plays tonight as well."
 
The Warriors hit the road next weekend for matches at No. 7 Corban and (RV) Bushnell. The following weekend they will take on Southern Oregon and (RV) Oregon Tech, both on the road. LC returns home on Oct. 15 and 16 when the Warriors host No. 14 Eastern Oregon and College of Idaho.
 
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