LEWISTON, Idaho – Lewis-Clark State Volleyball pushed No. 5 Corban University to the brink in a five-set nail-biter on Saturday. The LC Warriors took the first set and pushed two frames to extra points before falling to the national powerhouse 23-25, 29-27, 25-22, 18-25, 17-15.
The hosting Warriors outhit the visiting Warrior squad .253 to .220. LC tallied two more kills, 66, and out-blocked Corban 12-7.
"Our team played their tails off this weekend, and it is everything we want for LC State Volleyball," Head Coach
Shaun Pohlman said. "The energy, the grit, and the level of play; we are feeling great going into the second half of conference play. There are a couple of points we wish we could redo in that fifth set, but that is what practice is for so we will get back to work because we are determined and ready to reach the next echelon."
After Corban took a 4-2 lead in the first, LC State utilized kills by
Lisi Langi,
Cassidy Nelson,
Carli Berntson and
Grecia Ung Enriquez evened things 7-7. A Corban surge put the visitors ahead 14-10, but another run with kills by Berntson and Nelson, plus a block by
Hallie Seaman and Nelson, knotted the score again 14-14.
Trailing 20-16, LC State took control with seven unanswered points. Back-to-back errors by Corban sparked the run, and kills by
Jada Wyms and Langi, an ace by
Esther Kailiponi and block by Wyms gave LC a 23-20 advantage. Wyms used an assist from Kailiponi to push the score to set point, and a Corban error ended the frame 25-23 in favor of LC.
Aces by Nelson and
Kenzie Dean got LC off to a strong start in the second before a kill by Langi gave the hosting Warriors a 5-3 lead. Corban rallied to tie things up 11-11, but a kill by Wyms and block by Wyms and Ung Enriquez put LC back in front 13-11.
A 7-2 run put Corban ahead 18-15 as the set continued, but a block by Seaman and Ung Enriquez, paired with a kill by Berntson, gave LC a slim 19-18 margin. Corban rallied to a 24-21 advantage before LC fought off three set points, aided by a block by Wyms and Nelson, to push the set into extra points. The back-and-forth ended with a Corban kill and block at 29-27.
Corban carried its momentum into the third set and took a quick 8-6 lead. Wyms and Nelson tallied back-to-back kills to tie the set 8-8, but the Corban Warriors rallied to stretch their lead out to 19-15. Three straight kills, with two by Langi and one by Wyms, brought LC within one, but Corban carried on to a 25-22 set win.
The fourth frame was all LC State, starting with a kill by Wyms, ace by Nelson and kill by Ung Enriquez to give the hosting Warriors a 4-2 edge.
Channa Hart notched a kill before teaming up with Berntson on a block as part of a four-point run to grow the LC advantage to 11-6, and kills by Nelson and Wyms made it 17-10. The pair ended the set 25-18 with another kill each.
The fifth and deciding set with a battle into extra points. LC State trailed 8-3 when the teams switched sides but used two kills by Ung Enriquez, two by Nelson and a pair of block assists by Wyms and Langi to pull within two at 11-9.
Nelson dealt a service ace and Ung Enriquez slammed down a kill to tie things up 12-12. Ung Enriquez unloaded for two more kills, but Corban outlasted the LC State Warriors in the 17-15 battle.
Ung Enriquez led LC State with 18 kills on a .286 attack percentage, and Langi added 13 at .357. Nelson notched 15 kills and assisted on four blocks, while Wyms had 12 kills (.529) and six total blocks. Three setters made an impact for LC State, with Kailiponi leading the way with 23 assists.
Vanja Tomic dealt 19 assists and
Jennah Carpenter had 11.
Three Warriors had double-digit digs led by Dean and
Kendzee Cloward each with 15.
Madison Kammuller chipped in 10, and Nelson was one short of a double-double with nine.
Corban's Avari Ridgway led the match with 19 kills with a .400 attack percentage and Rylee Troutman added 17. Jadyn Mullen dished 30 assists and Abby Guindy dealt 24. Defensively, Corban was led by Avari Ridgway's 15 digs to complete the double-double, while Troutman and Kealani Ontai each had 14.
UP NEXT
LC State hosts Homecoming Weekend Oct. 7 and 8 in the P1FCU Activity Center. The Warriors will take on No. 23 Southern Oregon on Friday before facing Oregon Tech on Saturday.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at
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