HUTCHINSON, Kansas – The #15 Laramie County Community College volleyball team fell to #2 College of Southern Idaho, 3-0 (13-25, 14-25, 18-25), Thursday afternoon in the Hutchinson Sports Arena in the first match of the NJCAA National Tournament.
The Golden Eagles fell to 29-9 overall, while the Golden Eagles of College of Southern Idaho improved to 28-2.
Laramie County was led the pair of sophomores Avery Nelson (Colorado Springs, Colorado) and Kylie Martin (Gypsum, Colorado) with four kills apiece, while sophomore Elizabeth Clark (Sandy, Utah) had two kills. Sophomore Kasandra Sturges (Parker, Colorado) had a total of 11 assists and added seven digs on the night.
Defensively, sophomore Kyle Meltzer (Fort Collins, Colorado) paced the Golden Eagles of LCCC with 11 digs, while Martin tallied six. Sophomore Payton Stack (Casper, Wyoming) led with three blocks.
LCCC recorded a hitting percentage of -.101 on the afternoon, compared to CSI with .179.
The Golden Eagles of CSI opened the match on a 7-1 run capitalizing on some early errors by the Laramie County Golden Eagles. Another CSI run with a kill by Jovana Vukcevic gave them a 14-6 advantage. College of Southern Idaho would only build on its lead from there, taking the first set, 25-13.
Laramie County started set two on a roll on a kill from Nelson and block from Jazzy Espinoza (Cheyenne, Wyoming) for the early lead. Both altered points for a stretch and then back to back errors gave the Southern Idaho Golden Eagles the lead. CSI remained in the lead for the rest of the set, leading by as many as 11. CSI took the set 25-14 for a 2-0 lead.
The third set opened with the teams trading points until Southern Idaho scored five unanswered points to pull ahead to a 19-12 lead. The Golden Eagles of LCCC wouldn't come closer than five points, while CSI scored the final two points, leading to a 25-18 set win and match victory.
LCCC is back in action on Friday as they take on #10 New Mexico Military College in a consolation matchup in Hutchinson Sports Arena at 10 a.m. CT. The Golden Eagles can still play for a 10th place on Championship Saturday.