SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Louisiana Christian University volleyball team dropped a pair of matches Saturday, falling to the Our Lady of the Lake Saints 3-0 (25-10, 25-20, 25-15) in a Red River Athletic Conference match before falling to the Schreiner Mountaineers 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-20) at Mabee Gymnasium in LCU's final non-conference match of the season.
Louisiana Christian (1-10, 0-2 RRAC) showed its strongest work at the net during the opening match.
Joie Goodwin converted a
Kylie Elmore assist to tie the first set at 1, then combined with Elmore for a block during a three-point Wildcats response.
Holly Rowe added a solo block to halt an Our Lady of the Lake (7-9, 3-1 RRAC) run, but the Saints closed the set with three straight points.
LCU responded in the second with seven kills, two aces and four total blocks in its closest set of the match. The Wildcats then hit .143 with seven kills in the third.
Natalie Aasen led the Wildcats against OLLU with five kills and seven digs. Rowe supplied four kills, three solo blocks and one block assist for a team-high 7.5 points, while Elmore coordinated the attack with 17 assists.
Mallory Wills contributed two kills, an ace and a block assist, and
Shanoa Mitch added an ace and four digs. The Wildcats finished with 19 kills, 19 assists and six total blocks.
LCU carried more sustained rallies into the second match. After falling behind Schreiner 16-7 in the first set,
NaKisha Nedd delivered two kills as the Wildcats scored four of the next five points and cut the deficit to 17-11. The second set featured six early ties, with kills by
Kourtlyn Smith and
Vivien Brouillette helping LCU stay even through 6-6. Facing set point at 24-14, the Wildcats produced five consecutive points. Aasen served an ace before Wills followed with a kill and a solo block, trimming the margin to five.
The Wildcats put together their best extended stretch in the third set. Wills completed a four-point response with a block after Schreiner opened with three straight points. Brouillette later put LCU ahead 12-11 during a five-point run, and Nedd extended the advantage to 15-12 with a kill. Schreiner answered with four points, but LCU immediately tied the set at 16. Wills added a late kill as the Wildcats pulled within 19-18 before Schreiner secured the final six-point margin.
Smith and Brouillette shared the LCU lead with five kills apiece in the second match. Wills hit .429 with three kills and two solo blocks, Elmore recorded 16 assists and six digs, and
Yadneli Molina anchored the back row with eight digs. LCU totaled 24 kills and 39 digs.
The Wildcats have their home opener on Friday as Texas A&M-Texarkana heads to Pineville for a pair of RRAC matches. Friday's opener against the Eagles (4-7, 3-1 RRAC) is set for 6 p.m. Friday at Gene Rushing Court at H.O. West Fieldhouse.
