Fort Lewis FLC 6-8,3-3 RMAC

N.M. Highlands NMH 1-14,0-6 RMAC

Fort Lewis FLC

6-8,3-3 RMAC

Final

Sep. 30, 2023

N.M. Highlands NMH

1-14,0-6 RMAC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	F
Fort Lewis FLC	25	25	25	(3)
N.M. Highlands NMH	13	23	21	(0)

Summary
Box Score

Junior Natalia Lambos had 30 assists and 3 kills in the sweep of NMHU

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | 9/30/2023 8:41:00 PM | Angela Roberts, Assistant AD - Communications

Skyhawks earn sweep over Cowgirls to close out weekend

LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The Fort Lewis College volleyball team earned a sweep over New Mexico Highlands to close out the regional pod weekend road trip, aided by offensive efficiency and defensive prowess.

Fort Lewis improved to 6-8 on the year while NMHU dropped to 1-13 overall.

Fort Lewis hit .238 for the match and held NMHU to a .102 efficiency. The Skyhawks had eight service aces as well as several serves which led to overpass kill opportunities. Defensively, Fort Lewis edged out NMHU in digs (48-38) and blocks (8-5).

The duo of senior Lauren Shea and sophomore Ella Butler was outstanding offensively as both players contributed 12 kills. Shea hit for a .435 efficiency (12-2-23) while Butler dazzled at .647 (12-1-17). Senior JJ Curry and junior Alexis Hobie followed with seven kills and six kills, respectively. Junior Natalia Lambos recorded 30 assists to go along with three kills on three swings. Junior Sarah Wilkey led the team with 13 digs, followed by freshman Alina Nunez who recorded 12. Sophomore Chloe Ruhl had eight digs and a team-high three aces.

The Skyhawks opened the first set on a tear, going up 6-1 thanks to an onslaught of Cowgirls errors to force a timeout. Fort Lewis extended the lead to 10-1 via a Curry kill before a kill on the right side resulted in an NMHU side out. The Cowgirls got a couple of points back but kills by Hobie and Shea allowed for a 15-6 advantage. Ruhl stepped back to the service line and picked up two points for her team to extend the lead to 19-9. Hobie put away a pair of kills, and the block of Shea and Romano ended the set in a 25-13 score.

The teams traded points to begin the second set before a run, fueled by Ruhl at the service line, had Fort Lewis ahead 9-5. NMHU managed to pull ahead thanks to a balanced offense, but Fort Lewis kept it close as the score sat at 16-15 in favor of the home team. The Skyhawks battled back and reclaimed a lead at 20-19 courtesy of a service error. From there, Hobie and Curry combined to find set point. The Cowgirls saved the set momentarily, but Shea used the block for her seventh kill of the match to put her team up two sets to none.

Butler put away a pair of kills to begin the third set, but the Cowgirls matched her pace to keep it close in the early points. The Skyhawks' block came into play in the following rallies, earning them a pair of points thanks to stops by Hobie and Romano to make it 10-all. NMHU took back the lead, but Wilkey grabbed it back thanks to stout serving to bring on a timeout with Fort Lewis ahead 15-13. The momentum remained in favor of Fort Lewis as a Butler kill extended the lead to 19-14. The home team went on to pull within a pair at 22-20. Shea earned a kill on the outside and backed it up with a block to bring on match point. Wilkey put a bow on a great night with her third ace of the night to end it in a 25-21 final.

"I'm proud of the team for sweeping the weekend and coming out on top in a regional pod," said head coach Giedre Tarnauskaite. "We took control of the match and played with confidence. It's great to see out hard work paying off in a big way. We're inspired to get back in the gym next week and build off the winning momentum."

Up Next
Fort Lewis is back home next week for a pair of matches against Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines. Friday's match against BHSU will begin at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday's will kick off at 1:00 p.m.

On Saturday, Fort Lewis will welcome Nike N7 to Whalen Gymnasium for volleyball's inaugural celebration of Native American Heritage. Since its creation in 2009, the Nike N7 Fund has awarded more than $7.5 million in grants to 259 Native American and Aboriginal communities and organizations, reaching more than 500,000 youths. The N7 Fund supports organizations that provide sports and physical activity programming to youth in these communities.

This year marks the first time that Skyhawks volleyball is participating in the event. Fort Lewis is one of only 11 institutions nationwide — Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts, Gonzaga, Florida State, Marquette, University of New Mexico, San Diego State, Stanford, Haskell Indian Nations, Mesa Community College, and Fort Lewis College — to participate in the games.

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