VOLLEYBALL

Warrior Volleyball opened the season with a pair of huge wins over strong NAIA competitors to make a statement early in the 2024 season. LC State defeated No. 17 College of Saint Mary (Neb.) and Hastings (Neb.) on the road and open the home portion of the schedule on Thursday with the Hells Canyon Grand Invitational. 

LC State will take on Pacific Union (Calif.) and Walla Walla (Wash.) on Thursday to start the tournament before closing out the week against former Frontier Conference for Carroll (Mont.) on Friday. Three matches will be played on Thursday and three on Friday. A full schedule as well as tickets can be found at lcwarriors.com.

The Warriors last faced PUC in 2022 and swept the Pioneers 3-0. Esther Kailiponi led the match with 18 assists. LC State is 12-0 against Walla Walla dating back to 2010 and has dropped only one set in that span. Juliauna Forgach Aguilar tallied a match-high 13 kills in the most recent meeting and Abbey Neff dealt 23 assists. Gianna Anderson had four service aces to go with her 13 digs. 

Against Carroll, the Warriors are 15-10 since 2010. LC State has not faced the Fighting Saints since 2019 when the Warriors were still in the Frontier Conference, and Carroll took the final two meetings between the two programs. CC is 3-1 to start the season with the lone loss coming in three sets to Bushnell (Ore.).