George W. Bush was the president and Jake Plummer was the Denver Broncos’ starting quarterback. These statements were true the last time Fort Lewis College volleyball had as good of a start to a season as it’s having now.
The Skyhawks are off to their best start since 2006 after beating Black Hills State 3-0 on Friday night at home. FLC controlled Set 1 and Set 3 with a balanced offensive attack. The Yellow Jackets pushed the Skyhawks in Set 2, but FLC had the response and came back for the set win.
“I'm happy that we got the win,” FLC head coach Justin Wong said. “But I know that we can play better and cleaner. So we'll strive to do that against South Dakota Mines.”
FLC improved to 7-1 overall and 1-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference after its 25-20, 25-22 and 25-19 win. Senior middle blocker Ella Butler and freshman outside hitter Cambria Freymuth led the Skyhawks with eight kills each. Junior outside hitter Jordan DeJesus and senior right side Ryli Kalahiki each added seven kills. Sophomore setter Addie Garn led FLC with 16 assists. Freshman setter Arianna Reyna added 15 assists.
Black Hills State dropped to 3-6 overall and 0-1 in the RMAC after the loss. Emily Freeland led the Yellow Jackets with seven kills.
The Skyhawks got off to a great start in Set 1 and led 5-1. Freymuth had two kills from the left side early as Black Hills State couldn’t deal with her length and power around the net.
Black Hills State struggled around the net early. The Yellow Jackets couldn’t connect on any clean kill attempts with the waiting arms of the FLC blockers at the net. Black Hills State also struggled with its tip shots.
FLC increased its lead to 15-9 after back-to-back points from Butler. She always has a presence around the middle of the court with her power and precision.
Black Hills State struggled to get in touch with FLC in the middle of the first set. FLC did a great job of not allowing Black Hills State to gain any momentum with any mini-runs.
The Skyhawks showed off their blocking prowess with three consecutive blocks, ending in a Skyhawk point and a 19-13 lead.
Black Hills State went on a run late in the set to make it close. The Yellow Jackets started finding space in the FLC defense. They did a much better job blocking the FLC attacks. The Skyhawks led 23-20 before a Wong timeout.
FLC won the set 25-20, but it was because Black Hills State shot itself in the foot with two attack errors to end it.
“The first set, to me, was not a good first set,” Wong said. “Black Hills State was giving us a lot of points and we weren’t earning anything. In the second set, they pushed back and we didn’t really find our way until we were down.”
The Skyhawks started Set 2 strongly, leading 3-0 after two Butler kills. The Yellow Jackets had the answer and the teams battled back and forth for the first half of the set.
During this stretch, Kalahiki had a few nice kills from the right side. The left-hander provides a unique option for FLC with her attack angles as a lefty.
“She definitely brings something different,” Wong said about Kalahiki. “She’s got really contagious energy; she loves to cheer and cheers well.”
After over 1.5 sets, Black Hills State took its first lead of the match. DeJesus smoked a hit far past the end line and that started a run for the Yellow Jackets that gave them a 21-16 lead. FLC really struggled with attack errors in this stretch.
FLC had the response. The Skyhawks went on a 7-0 run to retake the lead, including back-to-back kills from the left side from Freymuth. Kalahiki had a beautiful tip shot to win the set 25-22 for the Skyhawks.
Once again, the Skyhawks had a good start and led early. Freshman Caroline Munson had back-to-back kills, the Yellow Jackets had a few hitting errors and a Reyna ace put FLC up 13-9. FLC continued that good momentum and stretched its lead to 22-12.
Black Hills State made a nice run, but FLC finished the match off with two kills by Kalahiki’s left hand.
The Skyhawks return to Whalen Gymnasium to play South Dakota Mines on Saturday at 6 p.m.
“We're still trying things out,” Wong said. “I'm not afraid to try things, to explore; that’s the best way to learn. I really wish we had a longer preseason, but we’re in a good spot to keep learning and competing.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
