LEWISTON, Idaho – Oregon Tech and LC State played two competitive matches on Friday with Tech taking the first match in three (25-17, 25-22, 26-24) and LCSC taking the 5-set thriller 3-2 (31-29, 16-25, 28-30, 25-16, 20-18).
 
"We struggled in the first match this morning to find our rhythm offensively, but did enough to get out with a 3-0 win," said head coach Ken Murczek. "Our offense was much better in the second match but we struggled to slow our opponent down. I am really proud of how we battled from being down 14-11 in the fifth set and pushing the match into overtime. We will need to regroup and get ready for a nationally ranked opponent tomorrow."
 
Match one: Oregon Tech 3 Lewis-Clark State 0
 
The Warriors and Owls were pretty evenly matched up, with both teams taking a match win on the day. OIT took the first match with LC State putting up a battle in the final two sets.
 
Down by five in the second, 22-17, the Warriors rattled off three-straight points to pull within two but couldn't seem to get closer as errors plagued LC State from the service line to close out the set.
 
In the third, LC State tied the set at 19, 20, 23 and 24 to extend the match, but Oregon Tech scored the next two points to win the match.
 
Faith Houck-Wylie led the Owls with 10 kills, while Brooke Cassidy (13 assists) and Lindsey Beck (12 assists) teamed up to fuel the offense. Aubrey Kievit and Lindsey Sampson each chipped in 16 digs.
 
On the other side of the net, Tori Edwards led the Warriors with 10 kills, while Hannah Martinez had 16 assists and Jess Ruffing added another 10 assists. Kenzie Dean finished with 11 digs to keep her team in the match.
 
In the second match, both teams were in it to win it. The five-set thriller had 40 ties and 14 lead changes – including 14 ties and five lead changes in the first set alone – and a combined 26 extra points. LC State pulled out the marathon match 3-2 (31-29, 16-25, 28-30, 25-16, 20-18) to settle for a split on the day with OIT.
 
Jada Wyms was unstoppable for the Warriors in the victory with 23 kills on 42 attempts (.452). Chloe Emory tallied 18, and Edwards and Carli Berntson had 15 and 14 kills, respectively. Martinez dished out a career-high 36 assists, while Ruffing dealt 30.
 
Once again, Houck-Wylie led the Owls with 17 kills, while Ashley Ripplinger contributed 12 kills and Nicole Reyes finished with 12. Cassidy dished out 30 assists, while Beck finished with 24. Kievit came up with 21 digs, while Sampson added another 14 to keep the Owls in it.
 
Oregon Tech will take on No.13 Corban University (6-0, 6-0 CCC) Saturday in Lewiston, Idaho with the first match scheduled for an 11:00 am start with the second match at 2:00 pm.
 
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