LEWISTON, Idaho – The Warriors opened the two-match battle of Idaho small colleges with a victory over College of Idaho on Friday night. LC State pushed the Yotes to four sets before clinching the victory 3-1 (25-19, 18-25, 25-23, 26-24).
"C of I is a great team," Head Coach
Shaun Pohlman said. "They really pushed us back on our heels and forced us to respond, which is something we have had to learn how to do better this year. We had to make some plays tonight that we really haven't made all year. I don't think anyone can fell how deserving tonight's win is for this team."
The Warriors jumped out to a 4-2 lead to begin the first set. Morgan Ness put LC on the board and back-to-back kills by Carli Berntson and Ashlee Bachman made it a two-point game. A kill by Hallie Seaman sparked a four-point run to push the advantage to 8-5 before a swing my Chloe Emory started a six-point rally that saw the lead grow to 14-6. Another run of four grew the gap to 10, 18-8, and a kill by Ness ended the Yotes attempt at a comeback 25-19.
C of I turned the tables in set two. After the Warriors took a 7-5 lead, the Yotes rallied to jump in front 17-12. They rattled off three straight to send the set 25-18.
LC State bounced back in the third with kills from Jada Wyms and Tori Edwards to move in front 3-2. A block by Seaman and Emory broke a 5-5 tie before two aces by Emory and a kill by Berntson gave the Warriors a 10-9 lead. Consecutive kills by Wyms fueled a four-point run to make it 15-11, and errors by the Yotes kept LC in front. A kill by Edwards ended the set 25-23 to avoid of C of I comeback.
The Warriors played from behind in the fourth set. Trailing 10-7, LC State struck for five in a row with a kill by Ness and block by Wyms and Berntson to take a 12-10 lead. C of I regained the lead at 18-17 and pulled ahead as far as 24-21 to bring the score to set point. The Warriors rallied to score five straight points to complete the comeback with kills by Berntson and Ness, and blocks by Wyms, Ness and Berntson.
"Tonight's match is the epitome of this season – injuries forcing us in unfortunate situations, down on the scoreboard and still mustering the courage to not only keep fighting, but tonight we found a way to pull out a win," Pohlman said.
Edwards led LC State with 12 kills, while Ness added 10. Wyms, Berntson and Emory each had six. Hannah Martinez dealt 22 assists and Jess Ruffing had 16. Kenzie Dean led the defense with 16 digs and Wyms assisted on seven blocks. Berntson assisted on six at the net.
"My hat is off to these young ladies," Pohlman said. "They have endured and persevered so much through struggle and strife and tonight they deserve to be on the right side of the scoreboard. Tomorrow, we are going to have to come out with that mentality with yet a different roster and lineup. Our team has shown they can do it if they so choose."
The Warriors complete the series against College of Idaho on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Activity Center.
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