Tex. Permian Basin UTPB 4-3,0-0 Lone Star

Fort Lewis FLC 2-4,0-0 RMAC

Tex. Permian Basin UTPB

4-3,0-0 Lone Star

Final

Sep. 03, 2022

Fort Lewis FLC

2-4,0-0 RMAC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	F
Tex. Permian Basin UTPB	11	23	22	(0)
Fort Lewis FLC	25	25	25	(3)

Summary
Box Score

LCU Athletics

Sophomore outside hitter, Alexis Hobie (17), matched a season-high with 15 kills to lead all players

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | 9/3/2022 2:00:00 PM | Angela Roberts, Assistant AD - Communications

Skyhawks close out nonconference in straight-sets over Falcons

LUBBOCK, Texas – Earning nine service aces for the second time this season, the Fort Lewis College volleyball team closed out the Chaps Classic with a straight-set sweep over Texas Permian Basin on Saturday. Fort Lewis closes out the nonconference portion of its schedule with a 2-4 record while Permian Basin dips to 4-3 overall.

"All you want as a coach is for your team to continue fighting after a tough loss, and that's exactly what we did today," said head coach Giedre Tarnauskaite. "It was an absolute team effort, and we attacked UTPB from the service line in order to put pressure on their attackers to keep them out of system."

The Skyhawks did not have more than four aces in a three-set match in 2021 and have not surpassed eight aces in a sweep since September 1, 2017 when the team earned 13 in a win over Jarvis Christian.

Freshman libero Sarah Wilkey picked up a career-high four aces to go along with five digs. What the stat sheet doesn't show you is her relentless block coverage that extended points against one of the top blocking teams in NCAA Division II thus far. Sophomore Alexis Hobie put away a match-high 15 kills on 32 swings (.313) while coming away with nine digs. Junior JJ Curry followed with eight kills while hitting at a career-high .286 for the match.

"We were quick to make in game adjustments offensively, and at different points in the match we had different players shine. Alexis has been a steady force in the front row, and this game was no exception. She came through with big swings in clutch moments which carried the momentum," acknowledged Tarnauskaite.

Junior Lauren Shea proved to be an asset in the front and back row, leading the Skyhawks with 10 digs for her second double-digit outing of the season. Freshman Ella Butler was equally as well-rounded with seven kills on 11 swings for her most efficient match to date. Sophomore Natalia Lambos resumed duties in a 5-1 formation, dishing out 27 assists and defending the right side with seven digs.

The Fort Lewis defense held Permian Basin to its lowest efficiency of the season at just .082. The team also limited the Falcons' top weapon in senior Aquincia Strambler to a season-low eight kills on 21 attempts.

Set One (25-11)
The Skyhawks showed off a balanced offense early in the contest, finding swings from all areas of the court to make it a 6-5 score. Fort Lewis continued to pad the lead, this time with blocks from senior Rylee Johnson and Shea to go ahead 9-4. Wilkey proved to be a dynamic server throughout the run, earning two service aces and an overpass into the hand of Hobie to extend the lead to 12-5. The Falcon block, which puts up 2.8 denials per set, brought the team back in the set before a net error ended the brief run at 15-9. Tough serving and swings through the block brought the lead to a commanding 23-10 before an ace from Butler brought it to set point. Shea would close it out with a free ball swing out of the middle to earn a 25-11 opening win.

Set Two (25-23)
The Fort Lewis serve continued to keep the opposition out of system as a flurry of hitting miscues had the blue and gold ahead 4-2. Hobie found her rhythm on the outside from there, tacking on three authoritative kills to double up the lead at 10-5. The Falcons rallied to force a Fort Lewis timeout at 12-11 and knotted it at 12's off a hitting misfire. The teams were neck and neck in the ensuing points as the Skyhawk lead held courtesy of a savvy tip over the block. Permian Basin reversed the momentum, taking the 20-19 lead and forcing a timeout with a commanding block on the right side. The Skyhawks scored out of the break, but the lead would fall back into the hands of UTPB at 23-21 with a quick out of the middle. Fort Lewis would not go down without a fight, tying the score at 23's before a challenged call by Tarnauskaite was reversed to bring on set point. The Falcons slipped up with a hitting error to close out the set in a 25-23 score.

Set Three (25-22)
UTPB led early in the third, but a decisive block on the right-side attack brought the score to five all and set Hobie up for the go-ahead kill. The Skyhawks led by as many as four points at the teams moved to the midway point of the set, but Permian Basin rallied to tie it at 11-11 to force the set's first timeout. The Falcons remained collected after the brief pause in action, serving tough to make it a 14-11 score. Momentum began to shift in favor of Fort Lewis as a long rally ended in favor of the Skyhawks to tie it at 17-17. Permian Basin would counter by going on a 4-0 scoring run before Butler found the floor for a kill. The Skyhawks roared back to make it a 21-20 score and tied it off a Permian Basin hitting misfire. Butler gave her team the 22-21 lead moments later by pounding one away on two and catching the Falcons on their heels. Lambos served her team to match point at 24-21, but the Falcons stayed alive with a back row attack that just caught the line. Shea sealed the deal one play later, squeaking a kill through the block on the outside to end it.

Up Next
Fort Lewis (2-4, 0-0 RMAC) will look ahead to a Tuesday matchup with New Mexico Highlands University to jumpstart the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference portion of its schedule. The Skyhawks and Cowgirls will face off for a 6:00 p.m. first serve from the John A. Wilson Complex in Las Vegas, N.M.

"Our tough preseason tournaments have prepared us mentally and physically for the RMAC this season," recognized Tarnauskaite. "This year our opponents will get to see a very different Fort Lewis team. We tested our resiliency, and I feel that we are prepared for battle in the league."

Fort Lewis is 19-9 all-time against NMHU and split last season's meetings with a 3-2 win at home and a road loss to wrap up the season. The Cowgirls are 2-6 on the year with wins over U-Mary and East Central University.

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