COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — St. Edward's volleyball found itself on the deciding side of two five-set matches Friday, nearly completing a comeback against Michigan Tech before responding with a 3-2 victory over Lone Star Conference opponent Midwestern State on the opening day of the Mountain Lion Classic.
The Hilltoppers dropped the opener to Michigan Tech 15-25, 25-18, 25-16, 27-29, 8-15 before defeating Midwestern State 20-25, 27-25, 25-16, 20-25, 15-8. St. Edward's finished the day 3-3 overall.
Game 1: Michigan Tech 3, St. Edward's 2
25-15, 18-25, 16-25, 29-27, 15-8
After Michigan Tech hit .464 to control the opening set, St. Edward's settled into the match behind a balanced attack led by
KAYLEN LEMBCKE,
MIA CLAY and
KARA WYNN.
The Hilltoppers created separation midway through the second set after Wynn tied the score at 10 with a kill. Three consecutive Michigan Tech attack errors gave St. Edward's a 13-10 advantage before a 5-1 run pushed the lead to 18-12. Jaimes and Lembcke delivered kills, McDonald added a kill and Michigan Tech committed two more errors during the stretch.
Michigan Tech pulled within four twice, but St. Edward's continued to side out behind Clay, McDonald, and Lembcke. McDonald ended the set with a solo block to secure the 25-18 win.
The Hilltoppers carried the momentum into the third after overcoming an early 3-0 deficit. St. Edward's moved ahead 9-6 behind two kills from Wynn and consecutive points served by Ojeda. Michigan Tech briefly pulled even before Morris directed a decisive 5-0 run from the service line. Morris delivered an ace, Lembcke recorded consecutive kills surrounding a successful St. Edward's challenge and Briceno added a kill for a 14-9 lead.
St. Edward's produced 19 kills on a .295 hitting percentage in the set. Michigan Tech later pulled within three at 19-16, but the Hilltoppers scored the final six points behind Ojeda's serve. Wynn contributed two kills and combined with Jaimes for a block during the closing run, giving St. Edward's a 25-16 victory and a 2-1 lead in the match.
Neither team led by more than three in a fourth set that featured eight ties. St. Edward's fought off set point three times, getting kills from Clay, Lembcke and McDonald, but Michigan Tech responded to McDonald's tying swing at 27 with the final two points to force a fifth set.
The Huskies carried that momentum into the deciding frame, opening an 8-3 advantage and hit .409 in the set to close the match with a 15-8 win.
Lembcke finished with a team-high 19 kills on a .359 hitting percentage. Clay added 17 kills while hitting .316, and Wynn supplied 15 kills. Morris directed the offense with 52 assists and added 14 digs and two aces.
Ojeda finished with 20 digs, while Briceno added 11. St. Edward's produced 67 kills and hit .215 compared to Michigan Tech's 57 kills and .198 hitting percentage.
Game 2: St. Edward's 3, Midwestern State 2
20-25, 27-25, 25-16, 20-25, 15-8
St. Edward's answered its narrow opening loss with another five-set effort, this time controlling the deciding frame from the opening serve.
Midwestern State took the first set 25-20 after hitting .324, but the Hilltoppers responded behind Clay and
KELLI FORDING in the second.
St. Edward's trailed 24-23 before an attack error pulled the teams even. Clay then delivered three kills over the final four points, including consecutive finishes to turn a 25-25 tie into a 27-25 Hilltopper victory.
Fording took over early in the third set, producing four consecutive kills during a 5-0 run that gave St. Edward's a 13-9 advantage. The Hilltoppers continued to pull away behind a disciplined attack, committing only two errors and hitting .281 while holding Midwestern State to .027 in a 25-16 win.
Midwestern State forced a fifth set by winning the fourth 25-20, but St. Edward's never trailed in the decisive frame.
Lembcke opened the set with a kill, and Morris remained at the service line as the Hilltoppers scored the first six points. Lembcke added two more kills during the opening run before Jaimes and Clay extended the lead to 8-2.
St. Edward's maintained control from there. Lembcke and Jaimes combined for a block to make it 9-3, and consecutive Midwestern State errors extended the margin to 12-4. Fording delivered the final two kills, closing out the 15-8 victory.
The Hilltoppers hit .412 with nine kills and only two errors in the fifth while holding Midwestern State to five kills and a negative-.048 percentage.
Clay led St. Edward's with 21 kills, matching her career high on a .255 hitting percentage. Fording added 14 kills while hitting .294, and Lembcke and
LANDRY BAUGHMAN contributed six kills apiece. Morris finished with 45 assists, while Ojeda anchored the defense with 21 digs and five assists.
St. Edward's concludes the Mountain Lion Classic on Saturday with matches against South Dakota Mines and tournament host UCCS.
