GLENDALE, Ariz. – LC State Volleyball closed out the 2021 Firestorm Volleyball Classic on a tough note with a pair of losses on Saturday. After taking the first set against MSU-Northern to start the day, the Warriors dropped the next three to the former conference opponent (23-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-23). LC faced a strong Arizona Christian team in the afternoon and dropped the match in straight sets (25-18, 25-20, 25-13).
“This weekend took us by surprise,” Head Coach Shaun Pohlman said. “We knew we were going to get challenged – the goal was to get challenged – but it definitely took us by surprise. How we played it not okay and we are going to get to work come next week with Cascade Conference play coming.
“There is definitely a better team than what preformed this weekend. Normally I’d say that we are looking forward to our upcoming matches, but instead we are looking forward to our upcoming practices so we can watch film and let our players know what adjustments need to be made. Ultimately we need some leaders and people that want to step into the leadership role and help propel this team forward.”
MATCH ONE: MSUN def. LC State 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-23)
The Skylights got off to a strong start with five straight points. LC State battled its way back to within one at 9-8 before a run of six put the Warriors in front 14-10. Jada Wyms capped the run with a kill on as assist from Jess Ruffing, who also had an ace and kill in the stretch.
MSUN rattled off four points to regain the lead in the back-and-forth battle, but LC State broke the 23-23 tie with an error by the Skylights and a kill by Grecia Ung Enriquez to end the set.
Northern took control early in the second set with four points. Tori Edwards put LC in front with kills to make it an 8-6 Warrior lead, but another run by the Skylights put LC behind 14-9. They went on to take the set 25-19.
The lead changed hands multiple times early in the third set until a four-point rally by MSUN gave the Skylights a 10-7 advantage. LC battled to tie things up 12-12 but were not able to regain the lead in the set and fell 25-22.
The Skylights came out swinging once again the fourth and took a 3-2 lead. The Warriors battled to tie the set 6-6 and kept the score close before a kill by Wyms started a late seven-point run. Cassidy Nelson had back-to-back kills in the span and an ace from Lexi Trowbridge capped the rally with the Warriors in front 23-19. MSUN shifted the momentum back and fought off multiple set points to end the match with a 25-23 win.
Edwards led LC State with 11 kills in the match, Carli Berntson had nine and Nelson and Wyms each had eight. Ruffing dished out 22 assists and Kenzie Dean had 16 digs.
MATCH TWO: ACU def. LC State 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-13)
The Warriors faced a much-improved Arizona Christian to close out the weekend. The host team controlled each set of the match from early on.
The Firestorm took a 6-3 lead out of the gate in the opening set before LC tied things up 10-10. A kill by Wyms on an assist from Hannah Martinez put the Warriors ahead 12-11, but a massive eight-point run by ACU put the Firestorm in the driver’s seat. Arizona Christian took the set 25-18.
LC State responded by taking a 4-3 lead in the second frame. After battling back-and-forth, ACU rattled off a run of five to take over the set at 18-15. Kills by Berntson and Wyms and an ace from Martinez pulled LC within two, but three straight by the Firestorm ended the set 25-20.
Arizona Christian made quick work in the third with a 25-13 victory. The Firestorm scored the first seven points of the frame before another run grew the gap to 12-5. ACU used the momentum to end the match in three sets.
Berntson led the Warriors with 11 kills in the match. Ung Enriquez and Edwards each had six kills. Ruffing led the setters with 15 assists, and Ung Enriquez led the defense with 11 digs.
The Warriors open Cascade Conference play on Friday, Sept. 3 against No. 21 Southern Oregon. The match is slated for 7 p.m. in the Activity Center. LC State will have a quick turnaround with Oregon Tech in town on Sept. 4 at 5 p.m. Both matches will have a live stream available for purchase on lcwarriors.com.
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