#16 LLCC defeats #14 Catawba Valley 25-23, 22-25, 25-17, 25-21

LLCC defeats Illinois Valley 19-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-16

GAME ONE:
LLCC opened up the final regular season weekend with a tough assignment, the Red Hawks of #14 Catawba Valley, North Carolina.  The Loggers started fast, opening a 12-7 lead behind blocks by Erika Miller and 2 of Olivia Dour's match-high 17 kills.  LLCC opened it to 16-10 before CVCC pulled within two behind aggressive serving, tying the set at 21.  The two sides alternated points to 23 before a Red Hawk error gave the Loggers the lead, followed by another Dour kill.

The second set saw Lincoln Land open with four unforced errors, quickly falling into a 9-5 hole.  Maree Taig and Emily Miller blocked well to tie it at 9, but then Catawba Valley's serve-receive tightened up and they ran quick sets all along the net, leading to a 25-22 defeat for LLCC.

The third set was filled with mistakes on both sides, including five consecutive points decided by center-line violations.  When the two teams cleaned up their games, the Loggers were up 12-9.  LLCC picked up a Brunstein-Dour-Miller triple block (one of two triple blocks in the contest) which opened a 17-11 gap that the Lggers held onto, winning 25-17.

The deciding set was closely fought as the two sides trade points to 10, then to 20 with neither team able to build a lead of more than two points.  LLCC was finally able to open a lead behind an Erika Miller kill and Bobana Marusic ace, leading to a final 25-21 victory.

"We did some things well and still have things to work on," Coach Dietz said afterwards.  "Ultimately, we played enough defense that Lainey [Jackson] was confident in running our middles and that meant Olivia [Dour] had her best hitting day of the year.  I've been really happy with Olivia's improvement--over the past month, she's blossomed into a key hitter for us."

GAME TWO:
In their final match of the day, the Loggers struggled out of the gate against Illinois Valley Community College.  In the first set, the Loggers were at a standstill and IVCC's defense kept everything from hitting the court.  "It didn't help," Coach Dietz noted, "That we missed five serves in the set and let another five fall without any sort of defensive communication going on."  IVCC won 25-19.

In the second set, a Maree Taig/Erika Miller block sparked an early run and four-point LLCC lead, but that evaporated behind four unforced errors as Illinois Valley tied the tilt at 14.  Lincoln Land was able to reassert control, opening a gap behind two Maree Taig kills, leading to a 25-21 win.

The third set finally saw Lincoln Land start with a lead and hold it behind a 5-2 run of serves and digs by freshman Taylor Thomas.  IVCC got a spark down 12-16, but it was halted by another Taig/Miller block and the Logger lead was nailed in place by a Molly Tauke ace and finished with a Lainey Jackson setter-attack to seal the 25-19 win.

In the final set, LLCC took a lead and held it, but could not expand it until it took a 14-12 game and ran it to 21-13 behind tough serves from Lainey Jackson and Molly Tauke, finishing the 25-16 win with a hard-hit kill by Kiley Brunstein.

"It was pretty ugly," Coach Dietz said at the end.  IVCC is scrappy on defense and we just assumed they were going to go away, let us win.  Good teams don't do that--and IVCC played great defense.  Now we have to be ready for tomorrow--last day of the regular season."

The Logger record on the season now sits at 24-11.

They will get back to play tomorrow at 1pm vs. Sauk Valley

GAME ONE:
vs. Catawba
Blocks: Dour 8, Miller 4
Assists: Jackson 48
Digs: Tauke 11, Marusic 10
Aces: Marusic 2, 3 tied w/1
Kills: Dour 17, Brunstein 16

GAME TWO:
vs. IVCC
Blocks: Miller 4, Dour 4
Assists: Jackson 39
Digs: Marusic 11, Tauke 8
Aces: Marusic 2,2 tied w/1
Kills: Brunstein 16, Miller 11, Tauke 11