PINEVILLE, La. – The Louisiana Christian University volleyball team had several big rallies but ultimately fell 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-10) to the Our Lady of the Lake Saints Friday night on the Gene Rushing Court at H.O. West Fieldhouse.
Kourtlyn Smith and
Holly Rowe each delivered two early kills as LCU opened the first set with a 4-1 lead. Louisiana Christian (5-15, 4-7 RRAC) later trailed 15-8 and faced a 21-14 deficit before putting together six consecutive points.
Alanah Dugar capped that rally with three straight kills, pulling LCU within 21-20. The Wildcats could not complete the comeback, surrendering the final four points to Our Lady of the Lake (13-12, 9-4 RRAC) despite producing 12 kills in the set.
LCU again rallied in the second set, cutting a 17-11 deficit to 17-15 with four straight points. Two kills by
Vivien Brouillette, a shared block by Brouillette and Cother, and a Dugar kill fueled the run. After falling behind 20-15, the Wildcats worked back within 22-19 through a Smith kill, a
Yadneli Molina ace and a Cother kill. LCU also saved two consecutive set points, with Cother serving an ace to make it 24-21 before the next rally ended the set.
Cother served another ace to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead in the third set, but LCU surrendered 11 consecutive points after a 3-3 tie. The Wildcats managed five kills against six attack errors in the final set. Late in the match,
Mallory Wills recorded a kill and then assisted Smith for LCU's final point at 23-10.
Dugar led the Wildcats with seven kills on .182 hitting, adding five digs and a block assist.
Cother directed the attack with 21 assists and contributed two kills, two aces and a block assist.
Smith finished with six kills, Rowe added five and Wills totaled three.
Molina led the back-row defense with 10 digs, while
Shanoa Mitch collected eight of LCU's 31 digs.
The Wildcats finished with 27 kills and 19 attack errors on 91 attempts for a .088 hitting percentage. LCU recorded three aces and two team blocks, with its best hitting percentage coming in the second set at .147.
LCU looks to salvage one of the season's four match-ups with the Saints on Saturday as the two teams meet for the final time in the 2026 regular season. Opening serve of Saturday's match is set for 10 a.m. on the Gene Rushing Court at H.O. West Fieldhouse.
