DURANGO, Colo. – The Fort Lewis College volleyball team has certainly enjoyed playing at Whalen Gym this season. After picking up a 3-1 (25-19, 25-22, 13-25, 25-16) win over Black Hills State Friday night, the Skyhawks are now 4-1 this season at Whalen.
Not only did FLC (5-11, 5-7 RMAC) tally another hoe win, but the five conference victories also surpasses last year's mark of 4-14.
Haley Christiansen, Bailey Longacre and Tye Wedhorn all powered the Skyhawks' offense with 38 combined kills. Christiansen led the way with 14, followed by 13 from Longacre and 11 from Wedhorn.
Megan Graefe tallied 22 digs, while Kendra Swackenberg had 38 assists and added another double-double with 16 digs. Jacalyn Sharko wasn't far behind in the dig category adding 14.
In the opening set, four straight attack errors by BHSU (7-12, 4-8 RMAC) helped FLC turn a 4-3 deficit into a 7-4 lead. After the Yellow Jackets fought back to 17-16, a Longacre kill helped start a 4-0 run, with two more attack errors by BHSU and then a kill by Longacre at 21-16. Christiansen, Maddie LeBlanc and then a kill by Wedhorn at 25-19 helped lock up the set for the Skyhawks.
BHSU controlled the early parts of the second set until a Longacre kill at 11-10 helped push FLC in front. Christiansen and Wedhorn added a block and after a bad set by the Yellow Jackets, Wedhorn set down a kill at 13-11. BHSU kept coming back, moving back in front at 18-17. Still in front 19-18, FLC began to make their move, with Longacre tallying a pair of kills around an error by the Yellow Jackets for a 21-19 lead and a BHSU timeout. Out of the break, BHSU tied the set a pair of times, with the last coming at 22-all before Wedhorn posted a pair of kills around an attacking error by BHSU for the 25-22 set win and 2-0 match lead.
FLC looked to be off to a good start in the third set, jumping out to a 4-1 lead with points from Christiansen and Wedhorn. Towards the middle of the set, BHSU used a lengthy run to move ahead 18-10. FLC tried to get back into the set, but the Yellow Jackets finished the third on a 7-3 run to take the set at 25-13.
The Skyhawks came out fired up to start the fourth set, quickly reeling off six straight points. Longacre started the run with a kill and then Wedhorn and Christiansen also added kills around a few BHSU errors to open up the 6-0 advantage. A Sharko kill and a few more attacking errors by the Yellow Jackets in the middle of the set moved FLC to a 14-5 lead. Longacre then finished the set off, moving FLC to match points with a kill and after four points by BHSU, she ended the night with a kill at 25-16.
In addition to having the 13 kills, Longacre also hit .294 on the night. Wedhorn added a .259 percentage. The Skyhawk defense kept BHSU to just a .083 hitting percentage with 44 kills to 30 errors in 169 chances.
Sierra Stugelmeyer and Jadie DeLange led the Yellow Jackets with seven kills apiece. Laurel Lech had 25 assists and Valerie Blake added 25 digs.
With the win, FLC remained tied for eighth in the RMAC standing with Westminster. FLC will host South Dakota Mines tomorrow (Saturday) night starting at 5 p.m. inside Whalen Gym. The Hardrockers fell in four sets at Adams State on Friday.
