PHOENIX, ARIZ. – The Valley City State volleyball team dropped a pair of games in its season-opening matches Friday at the Firestorm Tournament hosted by Arizona Christian.
The Vikings fell to Arizona Christian in three straight sets, 25-21, 25-18, and 25-15. VCSU then dropped its next game to Lewis-Clark State College, 25-17, 25-20, and 25-22.
Valley City State opens the season with an 0-2 record overall. Arizona Christian starts the season 2-0 and Lewis-Clark moves to 5-1 this season.
Valley City State finishes play at the Firestorm Tournament with a pair of games Saturday. VCSU faces Embry-Riddle at 2 p.m. CT and Montana State-Northern at 6 p.m. CT. Live video and stats will be provided here.
Arizona Christian 3, VCSU 0
Arizona Christian hit .360 in Friday's game and had three players tally double-figure kills in a three-set sweep over Valley City State.
Valley City State kept up with Arizona Christian early in the first set, holding a 14-14 tie. The Firestorm then rallied for five straight points to pull away. Back-to-back kills from Bailey Nelson and Makayla Wetzel allowed the Vikings to get within three at 20-17 but could get no closer as the Firestorm took the first set 25-21.
Arizona Christian was nearly unstoppable in the second set, tallying 20 kills and a .425 hitting percentage. The Vikings took a 4-1 run with three kills and a service ace to trail 21-17 but ultimately fell in set two 25-18.
The Vikings again held their own through the third set, trailing by just two points at 14-12 after a 5-1 Viking rally, including a pair of kills from freshman Brooke Blessum. A kill by Juarez kept it within two at 16-14 but it was all Arizona Christian from there as the Firestorm scored nine of the next 10 points to take the third set 25-15.
Senior Katie Juarez and freshman Brooke Blessum each finished with a team-high eight kills Friday, while Blessum added a pair of blocks for VCSU.
Kallene Klever totaled 12 digs for the Vikings and freshman Sadie Hansen added 25 set assists and nine digs. The Vikings finished with seven service aces, including four from Anne-Elise Gest.
Lewis-Clark 3, VCSU 0
Lewis-Clark took three straight sets and totaled 11 service aces in its victory over Valley City State Friday night.
Lewis-Clark took a 20-10 lead over the Vikings in the first set, but Valley City State answered with a 6-2 run including big kills from Juarez and Caitlyn Fischbach to trail 22-16. Lewis-Clark scored three of the next four points to take the first set 25-17.
Valley City State took an early 8-6 lead in the second set, capped by a block from Blessum and Fischbach. The Warriors then scored the next four points to take the advantage. From there, the Vikings took back a 15-13 lead on a service ace from Juarez. Lewis-Clark took an 8-1 run that would be enough momentum to take the 25-20 victory.
The Vikings trailed by as much as seven points six different times throughout the third set. Trailing 23-16, the Vikings rallied back with a 6-1 run including kills from Blessum and Wetzel to get within two points at 24-22. After a Warrior timeout, a final kill finished the match with a 25-22 third set victory over the Vikings.
Juarez led the Vikings with eight kills and two service aces in the game. Bailey Nelson and Caitlyn Fischbach each tallied five kills while Fischbach added four blocks. Blessum finished with four kills and three blocks for the Vikings.
Kallene Klever recorded a team-high 13 digs and added a pair of service aces Friday. Freshman Ellie Rush contributed 12 set assists and seven digs while Sadie Hansen added 10 assists and six digs for VCSU.
Lewis-Clark's Jada Wyms finished with 10 kills and three blocks Friday. Grecia Ung Enriquez totaled three service aces for the Warriors.
