COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – In the first match of the Reiver Classic, #12 Laramie County Community College posted a 3-1 (23-25, 25-11, 25-21, 25-11) victory against Barton County Community College on the opening day of the Iowa Western CC Reiver Classic.
Cassidy Nelson (South Jordan, Utah) paced the Golden Eagles (3-0) with a match-high 13 kills. She also recorded two blocks and an ace. Jazzy Espinoza (Cheyenne, Wyoming) added eight kills on a .538 hitting mark, while also posting two blocks. Payton Stack (Casper, Wyoming) chipped in with seven kills and Jessica Benedict (Wright, Wyoming) tallied six.
Kasandra Sturges (Parker, Colorado) dished out a game-high 27 assists, while Renae Davis (Pleasant View, Utah) posted 12 assists. On defense, McKayla Earl (Rawlins, Wyoming) recorded 13 digs and Kyle Meltzer (Fort Collins, Colorado) recorded 10 digs.
The Laramie County offense was tough all afternoon, totaling 52 kills in the match and hitting .290 percent. The team also recorded nine blocks in the match.
"We came out really flat and put ourselves in a bad spot to start the match, once we got our bearings and refocused ourselves we played much better," said head coach Austin Albers. "I thought we attacked well at times and our serve receive was strong and allowed us to be efficient offensively."
In the second match of the afternoon, LCCC swept past Jefferson College 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-12).
Avery Nelson (Colorado Springs, Colorado) paced the Golden Eagles with a team-high eight kills and four blocks. Cassidy Nelson added six kills and two blocks. Stack chipped in with five kills on a .400 hitting mark. Benedict tallied four kills and four blocks.
Sturges dished out a team-high 13 assists, while Davis added eight assists. On defense, Earl recorded nine digs and Meltzer had eight digs. Meltzer also had five aces and four assists.
The Golden Eagles had 29 kills, eight blocks and eight aces in the match.
"It was great to come away with a win in this one, for some reason we never really clicked as a whole but we had a few players step up from the serve line when we needed runs," said Albers. "At the end of the day we made plays when we needed them and got the sweep. We look forward to finding our groove as a team tomorrow."
The Golden Eagles will be right back at it on Saturday, facing Indian Hills Community College at 10:00 a.m. central time and #3 host Iowa Western Community College at 2 p.m. to close out play at the Reiver Classic.