SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Fort Lewis College volleyball team earned its first win of the season on Saturday, securing a commanding sweep over East Central University before falling in four sets to MSU Moorhead.
Match One: Fort Lewis 3, East Central 0
Fort Lewis bounced back offensively after a slow start to the season, hitting .257 for the match while holding East Central to a .147 clip. The Skyhawks matched that pressure at the service line with seven aces.
Seniors Jordan DeJesus and Alina Nunez each put away 10 kills while hitting .250. Sophomore Caroline Munson was the most efficient option, recording eight kills on 13 swings (.387). Sophomore Arianna Reyna dished out 18 assists to go along with seven digs, followed by senior Addie Garn with 17 assists. Sophomore Alyx Daugherty added a match-high 16 digs and two aces.
The teams traded points amid an onslaught of errors early in the first set, but Fort Lewis tacked on a pair of kills from Vogel to grab a 9-5 lead. Nunez added a kill later, and an ace by Daugherty gave the Skyhawks a 15-11 lead at the media timeout. East Central dialed it in from there, chipping away to tie the score at 19-19 with a kill that brushed the sideline. Fort Lewis scored the next two points, but a 3-0 burst put East Central ahead 22-21. Nunez tied things up at 23-all with a savvy roll shot, followed by Vogel's fourth kill of the set. The Skyhawks reached 25 points following a miscommunication by the Tigers to take the opening set.
A diverse offensive attack opened the second set with a 4-1 lead behind kills from DeJesus, Ames and Vogel. Dembickie added to the lead with a block and kill for a 10-6 edge. Fort Lewis continued to surge ahead despite an attempted challenge by East Central, holding a 15-8 lead at the break. DeJesus used the block to extend the lead to 19-12 following another stoppage for an attempted challenge, and a Tigers attacking error added another point. East Central enjoyed a small scoring run to pull within six before an authoritative kill by Nunez earned the side out. Dembickie forced a kill through the block for set point, and an ace by Reyna ended the second set, 25-17.
The Skyhawks faced an early deficit in the third set but rattled off three points to grab a narrow 5-4 lead. Attacking errors allowed the Tigers to stay within striking distance, but Nunez got the Skyhawks back on track with her seventh kill for a 12-9 advantage. East Central answered with persistent pressure at the net to retake the lead and force a timeout at 14-13. Fort Lewis moved back in front after a kill by Munson brushed off the block for an 18-17 lead. Three consecutive errors by East Central extended the advantage to three points late in the set. Munson stretched the run to six points with a quick attack from the middle before painting the line on the next rally to secure the sweep.
Match Two: MSU Moorhead 3, Fort Lewis 1
Fort Lewis struggled to put the ball away in the second match, hitting .127 compared to a .285 mark for MSUM. The Skyhawks were out-blocked 8-4 and out-dug 63-50. DeJesus added nine kills, followed by Ames and Nunez with eight apiece. Daugherty totaled 14 digs, followed by a career-high 11 digs from freshman Lauren Rich.
Daugherty's service pressure carried into the second match of the day, with an ace contributing to an early 5-2 lead. The Dragons responded with five straight kills and eventually forced a Fort Lewis timeout with an 8-6 advantage. Ames finally ended the scoring run with a soft shot from the middle to make it 12-7. The Dragons extended the lead to 10 points behind a strong kill from the right side and continued to roll, taking the opening set 25-14.
Fort Lewis stayed within two points early in the second set after a kill from DeJesus made it 6-4. From there, MSUM forced the Skyhawks into errors to extend the lead to 10-4. Fort Lewis struggled in serve receive, allowing the Dragons to move ahead 14-7. The Skyhawks chipped away and took advantage of four MSUM errors to force a timeout at 14-11. Vogel used the block to trim the deficit to two points at 16-14. Despite the push, Fort Lewis was forced into a late timeout trailing 21-16. The Dragons pulled away down the stretch, capping the set with a kill from the pin.
The tables turned in the third set as Fort Lewis used a 6-0 scoring run to take an 8-2 lead. Ames and Vogel combined for a block, and Nunez ended a rally on the following point to give the Skyhawks a commanding 14-7 advantage. MSUM placed an ace on the end line to cut the deficit to six points, but Fort Lewis continued to press forward and took a 22-15 lead on an ace by Reyna. Out of a timeout, the Dragons sparked a scoring run to force a Fort Lewis timeout at 23-19. The break did the trick, with a Vogel kill and an ace from Nunez sending the match to a fourth set.
The fourth set was error-heavy, with seven early points coming by way of miscues as MSUM built a 7-2 lead. Garn and DeJesus teamed up to help the Skyhawks score four straight points and trim the deficit to two. MSUM responded with a 5-1 scoring run and eventually carried a 15-10 lead into the media timeout. The Dragons kept rolling with four more points out of the break to build an 18-10 advantage. Nunez eventually ended the scoring run with an off-speed shot, but MSUM maintained control and pulled away to close out the match.
