HOUSTON, Texas – Lewis & Clark College volleyball opened the 2024 season on Friday with two matches at the University of St. Thomas Invitational, falling to Hendrix College and St. Thomas in straight sets.
THE BASICS
GAME ONE
Hendrix 3, Lewis & Clark 0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21)
(Lewis & Clark 0-1)
(Hendrix 2-1)
GAME TWO
St. Thomas 3, Lewis & Clark 0 (25-7, 25-10, 25-14)
(Lewis & Clark 0-2)
(St. Thomas 2-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Seniors
Annika Traxler,
Emily Strand, and
Bethany Ballesteros led the Pioneers on Friday. Traxler finished with 15 kills, 14 digs, and three service aces between the two matches. Strand added 12 kills and three blocks, while Ballesteros ended with 14 digs and two aces on the day.
Sophomore
Ruby Kuerschner had 28 assists, 13 digs and an ace against Hendrix and St. Thomas.
GAME ONE
Traxler led all players with 12 digs and three aces and tied Strand with a match-high nine kills in the Pioneers' season opener against Hendrix.
Sophomore
Isabel Meleán-Williams was second on the team with five kills, and junior
Reilyn Sabado finished second with eight digs.
A year after studying abroad, senior
Kelsie Nakashima returned to earn six digs and two assists as the libero.
After falling behind 0-3 in the opening set, Lewis & Clark took a 5-4 lead following consecutive errors by Hendrix. A 9-5 run by the Warriors forced the Pioneers to call their first timeout.
First-year
Daphne Ibrao recorded her first collegiate kill to pull Lewis & Clark within 19-16. The Pioneers cut the lead to one twice late in the set after a Warriors hitting error (22-21) and a kill by Traxler (23-22), but Hendrix scored the final two points to take the first set.
Lewis & Clark jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set, and a kill by sophomore
Christi San Diego gave the Pioneers a 6-4 advantage. First-year
Ainsley Mochrie earned her first career assist on a Kuerschner kill that put the Pioneers up 10-8. A 4-0 run by the Warriors gave them their first lead of the set at 14-11, one they did not relinquish on their way to a 25-21 win.
The third set began as a back-and-forth battle, with 10 ties and four lead changes resulting in a 13-13 tie after Ballesteros served up an ace. Hendrix pulled ahead with a 4-0 run to go up 17-13. As in the first set, the Pioneers pulled within a point twice after a Warriors hitting error (17-16) and a Traxler kill (20-19), but Hendrix closed out the match with a 5-2 run.
GAME TWO
Lewis & Clark adjusted their strategy against host team St. Thomas for their second match of the day, which took place immediately after their first. Ibrao and Mochrie earned their first collegiate starts against the Celts, while transfers sophomore
Kenzie Edwards and junior
Abby Warrick played their first matches in the orange and black. The Pioneers also moved Ballesteros to libero alongside Nakashima, utilizing a new NCAA rule that allows two liberos to play in a match.
The Pioneers kept pace with the Celts early in the first set, taking a 6-5 lead on a solo block by San Diego. However, St. Thomas took control and closed the set by outscoring Lewis & Clark 20-1.
In the second set, St. Thomas jumped out to an 11-4 lead, but a kill by senior
Ella Ruark, followed by a kill and a solo block from Meleán-Williams, brought Lewis & Clark within 13-7.
Back-to-back kills by Traxler and Strand briefly halted a 10-1 run by the host team, but the Celts scored the final two points to win the set.
Edwards set up Strand for a kill that gave the Pioneers a 5-2 lead to start the third set. The Celts responded with a 7-0 run to take the lead, but a kill by Traxler, who finished with a team-high six kills, pulled the Pioneers within 9-6. Lewis & Clark would get no closer as St. Thomas used a 9-3 run to take control and win the match.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Mochrie recorded a career-high eight digs against St. Thomas and finished only one dig behind Ballesteros who led the team with nine.
- Edwards finished with three assists and two digs in her first collegiate match.
- Warrick recorded her first NCAA dig after playing two seasons at Southwestern Oregon Community College.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark wrap up the St. Thomas Invite tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. CT / 9 a.m. PT with a match against Schreiner University.
