SHREVEPORT, La. – The Louisiana Christian University volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-11, 26-24 and 25-11) to the LSU Shreveport Pilots on Friday night at The Dock.
Kourtlyn Smith led Louisiana Christian's (5-13, 4-5 RRAC) attack with seven kills and a .312 hitting percentage.
Yadneli Molina anchored the back row with 13 digs and contributed five assists, while
Emma Cother supplied 12 assists and seven digs. Together, those two accounted for 17 of the Wildcats' 18 assists and 20 of their 36 digs.
The Wildcats established an early lead in the opening set, moving ahead 4-2 on a kill by
Holly Rowe. LCU still led 6-5 before surrendering five consecutive points to LSU Shreveport (11-9, 6-3 RRAC). After getting within 10-8, the Wildcats lost 15 of the final 18 points and finished the set with five kills and seven attack errors on 30 attempts.
LCU produced its strongest offensive stretch in the second set, recovering from six-point deficits at 4-10, 5-11 and 6-12. A kill by
Joie Goodwin completed a three-point run that pulled the Wildcats within 14-13. Later, trailing 20-18, LCU scored four straight points.
Alanah Dugar's kill put the Wildcats ahead 21-20 before an opposing attack error extended the lead to two.
A kill by
Mallory Wills restored a two-point cushion at 23-21, but the Wildcats conceded the next three points. Facing set point,
Holly Rowe and
Vivien Brouillette combined for a block to tie it at 24-24. LCU then allowed consecutive kills to fall behind two sets to none. The Wildcats finished the second set with 11 kills and just three attack errors on 35 attempts, hitting .229.
In the third set, Rowe delivered a kill to tie the score at 1-1 before LCU fell behind 6-1. A kill by Goodwin later brought the Wildcats within 14-8, but an eight-point run pushed the deficit to 22-8. LCU managed four kills against nine attack errors in the final set.
The Wildcats totaled 20 kills and hit .011 for the match, adding four team blocks.
Shanoa Mitch recorded LCU's lone service ace, and the team finished without a service error.
LCU looks to rebound and take one of the weekend pair from the Pilots on Saturday as the two teams battle again with opening serve set for 12 p.m. in The Dock.
