LLCC loses to Central Nebraska 22-25, 27-25, 18-25, 19-25
LLCC defeats McHenry CC 25-18, 25-23, 27-25

GAME ONE: 
LLCC opened the second day of the Kirkwood Invitational playing Central from Nebraska.  The contest was tight from the get-go with the two teams alternating points with long rallies until 18-18 when three LLCC errors opened an unrecoverable gap leading to a 25-22 Central victory.  The second set was equally exciting most of the way as the two teams were within two until LLCC took a 24-21 lead.  Four points later though, LLCC was on the short end 24-25 before scoring three quick points on two kills and a Central error for a 27-25 win.  The third set saw sloppy play from both sides.  Central took a 4-2 lead behind scrappy defense, but four straight Central errors helped LLCC to a 7-5 lead that the Loggers held until four straight errors in return gave Central a 14-12 lead.  Lincoln Land tied it at 18 before Central rattled off seven consecutive points for the win.  "The third set was important and we borked it,"  Jim Dietz said afterwards.  "They made several errors and instead of capitalizing on them, we returned the favor.  We struggle with accepting gifts or how to properly pressure opponents into making unforced errors.  It's something we have to work on if we want to be successful."  The final set emphasized Dietz's point on errors as LLCC fell behind 7-1 quickly.  After a timeout, LLCC scrapped its way back to tie the contest at 16.  Down 21-19, LLCC hit four straight long, giving Central the victory.  

GAME ONE STATS:
vs. Central
Digs: Bates 14, Bauer 13
Aces:Thomas 3, Eaker 1, Volk 1
Blocks:Plush 7, Hill 3, Volk 3
Assists: Volk 38, Pealer 7
Kills: Plush 12, Bauer 11


GAME TWO: 
LLCC's final contest was against the tournament's other Region IV team, McHenry Community College.  The Loggers started fast behind two kills from freshman Annika Black to build a 7-4 lead that extended to 16-10 on aggressive serving by Taylor Thomas.  McHenry closed within four to 21-17, but couldn't get closer as LLCC won a Mary Hill swing that bounced from defender to ceiling to floor for the 25-18 win.  In the second set, LLCC trailed most of the content, though never by more than three points.  LLCC tied it at 17 on a kill by freshman Sami Eaker, eventually winning on a swing Hill took that tooled the block for a close 25-23 result.  The final set was equally close with LLCC trailing most of the way, but never by more than three points.  "It went to overtime because we missed some silly serves," Dietz said after the contest.  "We missed serves when we were trailing 22-21 and 23-22.  We wound up fortunate to escape because of our hustle on defense and a bang-bang call that broke our way rather than McHenry's."  The Loggers won 29-27.

GAME TWO STATS:
vs. McHenry
Digs:Bates 17, Thomas 14
Aces:Thomas 2
Blocks: Eaker 3, Volk 2
Assists: Volk 42
Kills: Bauer 14, Eaker 12, Hill 11


LLCC now gets two weeks without a match to prepare for the KCKCC Invitational in Kansas City where they will take on multiple top 10 teams including the defending national champions.

Record: 10-4
NEXT: 9/20 at KCKCC Round-Robin