ST. PAUL, Minn. – Senior libero Kelsie Nakashima recorded a career-high 18 digs against Grinnell College, and senior outside hitter Ella Ruark hit a career-best .429 with 10 kills versus the University of Minnesota Morris as Lewis & Clark College volleyball dropped both matches on the final day of the Macalester College Invitational on Saturday morning.   
 
THE BASICS
 
GAME ONE
Grinnell 3, Lewis & Clark 1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-14) 
(Lewis & Clark 0-6)
(Grinnell 9-2)
 
GAME TWO
Minnesota Morris 3, Lewis & Clark 0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-21) 
(Lewis & Clark 0-7)
(Minnesota Morris 3-5)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Ruark led Lewis & Clark with 18 kills and a .250 hitting percentage on Saturday. Her 10 kills and .429 hitting percentage (10-1-21) in the final match of the tournament capped off the best four-match stretch for the pin hitter in her career. The senior added six digs and a block on the final day.
 
Seniors Annika Traxler (17 kills) and Emily Strand (15 kills) also finished with double-digit kills on day two of the tournament. Traxler led the team with five service aces on the day and Strand added four.
 
Nakashima (35 total digs) started the day by recording 18 digs and resetting her career high against Grinnell. She ended the tournament with 17 digs against Minnesota Morris and finished with a 5.00 digs per set average on the day. The senior added seven assists and an ace on Saturday.
 
Junior Reilyn Sabado finished second on the team with 21 total digs between the two matches and recorded a career-best 13 digs against Grinnell. Sabado, senior Bethany Ballesteros (17 total digs) and first-year Ainsley Mochrie (14 total digs) all finished with two aces on the day.   
 
Game One
 
In a matchup of the Pioneers, head coach Erin Labasan faced off against her alma mater in the third game of the Macalester Invite. The Lewis & Clark Pioneers erased a four-point deficit and took a 10-5 lead over the Grinnell Pioneers after Strand and Sabado each recorded two service aces in a 10-1 run. Junior transfer Abby Warrick also recorded her first NCAA kill to help L&C take the lead. Lewis & Clark held the lead the entire set and were the first to 20 points thanks to a kill by Ruark that made the score 20-16 and forced Grinnell to take their second timeout. Grinnell's Hayley Taka tied the set for the first time since 5-5 after back-to-back kills at 23-all, but a Ruark kill and a service ace by sophomore Ruby Kuerschner gave Lewis & Clark the 1-0 lead.
 
L&C carried the momentum into the second set, holding the lead until Grinnell took advantage of a couple of errors to jump ahead 13-11. Grinnell then went on an 8-2 run to take control of the set. A service ace by Ballesteros pulled Lewis & Clark within 22-19, but Grinnell tied the match with a 25-20 win.
 
Grinnell jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the third set, but this time, Lewis & Clark capitalized on their opponent's errors to get back in the set. Traxler knocked down a kill to make it 16-13, then served up an ace and assisted on a Kuerschner kill to pull L&C within 16-15 and force a Grinnell timeout. Attack errors by Keira Sullivan and Taka gave Lewis & Clark their first lead of the set at 17-16. Kills by sophomore Christi San Diego and Ruark extended the lead to 19-17. The teams then began to trade points, with Strand tying it for the last time at 21-all. Grinnell won the set on a 4-1 run.
 
In the final set, Lewis & Clark couldn't find their grove as Grinnell took the early lead and outhit L&C .222 to .031 with a 13 to six kill advantage.   
 
Game Two
 
In the final match of the tournament, Lewis & Clark faced off with Minnesota Morris, which immediately followed their match with Grinnell. Morris jumped out early in the first set and took a 12-4 lead. The Cougars controlled the set and extended their lead to 20-10 before a mini Pioneer run sparked by a Ruark kill pulled them within 23-16, but the Pios fell 25-17.
 
Ruark gave Lewis & Clark their first lead of the match with a kill to start the second set, but Morris jumped ahead to an early 11-5 advantage. After a kill by the Cougars' Braxtyn Meyer gave them a set point at 24-16, the Pioneers made them work for the final point. San Diego and Traxler teamed up for a block, then Traxler served an ace, followed by a block by San Diego and first-year Daphne Ibrao and another ace by Traxler. Unfortunately, a service error by the Pioneers ended the run, and the Cougars went up 2-0 with a 25-20 set win. Ruark and Strand had outstanding hitting in the set as each finished with four kills. Ruark hit .571, and Strand had a .429 mark.
 
Minnesota Morris took an early 5-0 lead in the third set, but Lewis & Clark clawed their way back and a bad set by the Cougars' Clara Holden tied the set at 10-all. Sophomore setter Kenzie Edwards found Traxler on the outside for a kill to give the Pioneers their first lead of the set at 12-11 and they would extend it to 14-12 on an attack error by Sydney Petersen. The Cougars regained the lead for a short time, but a kill by Kuerschner and an ace from Strand tied the set at 18. Morris closed out the match on a 7-3 run for the win.     
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• The Pioneers hit above .200 for the first time on Saturday against Minnesota Morris (.224) since playing Wells College on September 9, 2024. Ruark hit .571 in the second and third sets against the Cougars with identical lines of 4-0-7.
• Nakashima recorded double-digit digs in four consecutive matches for the first time in her career.
• Kuerschner led the team in assists in both matches with 29 against Grinnell and 16 versus Minnesota Morris. 

WHO'S NEXT

Lewis & Clark returns to the West Coast and opens Northwest Conference play on Tuesday in Salem against Willamette University at 7 p.m.