LLCC defeats Lincoln College 26-24, 25-16, 25-19
LLCC pulled off a road sweep at conference foe Lincoln College, though it wasn't easy. Lincoln led for almost the entirety of the first set as LLCC continued its streak of starting sets with errors, spotting the Lynx a 5-1 lead. The two teams traded sideouts until the Lynx widened the lead to 20-14 before Addie Patton was able to put down two kills, and helped by scrappy defense, Bailey Rexroad contributed a kill and a block allowing the Loggers to tie the score at 23, the first tie since 0-0. Freshman Carissa Smith came in for Addie Patton at 24-24, nailing two serves and picking up a dig to give the Loggers the win. "We talk a lot about quality rather than quantity of playing time. Carissa's play won us that first set," Coach Dietz said afterwards.
The Loggers took an early lead before the two sides exchanged a long series of missed serves which disrupted the game's rhythm. Lincoln capitalized on this to tie the game at 9, but a run of Lainey Jackson serves and two kills by Brea Cunningham opened a large LLCC lead, finished off by two solid Bobana Marusic digs and a Marusic ace to conclude the set.
The third set saw LLCC begin with a run of errors that was followed by a Lincoln run of errors, so that before either side could find a rhythm, it was 10-10. "After that," Dietz said, "It was really about pushing Lincoln into being overly aggressive, forcing them out of their comfort zone. When we did that, we created scoring opportunities that we took advantage of." LLCC won the final set 25-19.
Lincoln Land is now 12-4 on the year and is back in action Friday and Saturday against four ranked teams at the Parkland Invitational.
Match Stats:
Note: Anderson adds to her career-record triple-double total
Digs: Beekman 11, Marusic 10, Anderson 10
Aces: Jackson 2, Patton 2, Anderson 2
Blocks: Cunningham 3, 4 tied w/2
Assists: Anderson 24, Jackson 15
Kills: Patton 13, Anderson 11