LEWISTON— The brand new Lewiston girls volleyball team continues to improve.

The Blue Devils lost the program’s first home match 3-0 to Lake Region on Thursday, but Lewiston coach Nikki Pringle said the inaugural season isn’t so much about wins and losses.

“They did a really good job, they were excited to finally have a game at home and they have improved so much since the start of the season,” Pringle said. “I am proud of how far they have come in this first season. Lake Region had some tough servers, and the girls didn’t let balls drop. I am proud of them for digging those balls up. They played the best they could.”

Sage Cormier had 14 hits for Lewiston and three kills. Isa Tillier-Muñoz had seven assists. Theresa Shaw had two aces, four digs and four kills.

The Lakers’ game plan was to get the ball to a hitter, according to coach Ryan Shible.

“I tell my girls is to focus on defense, get the ball up, let the setter set and get it to our hitters,” Shible said. “I was impressed with my girls getting our setter set and hitters to hit.”

Lake Region took the first set 25-10, but like in the other two games, the Blue Devils hung around early in the set. Lewiston had a 4-3 advantage before the Lakers went on a four-point run. After Lewiston got its fourth point, the Lakers went on an eight-point run to make the score 15-5.

“I think it’s their fifth (match) ever played, so they have definitely ups and downs through the course of every game,” Pringle said. “I do see them getting better every game, getting stronger and finding ways as a team to overcome the hurdles they are facing.”

The Lakers won 10 of the next 15 points to close out the first game.

In the second set, Johanna Vincent started to make her mark serving, recording two service points for the Lakers. She also had three kills in the match.

“She just has a nice hard toss in her serve,” Shible said. “She just came through with some power on the serve for sure.”

Ava Smith had six kills and three blocks for Lake Region.

The Blue Devils were up 8-5 in the second set before Lake Region won 14 of the next 16 points to take a 19-10 lead. Both teams finished added six more points to their scores, and the Lakers won the set 25-16.

The third set was back-and-forth. Lewiston was down 16-13 before rattling off four points to take a 17-16 lead. The Lakers took a 21-20 lead and then won four of the next five points to win the decisive third game.

Pringle wants the Blue Devils to reach a fourth or fifth set as often as possible this season to further their development.

“Anytime we can get to a fourth or fifth set is great,” Pringle said. “So far we only have done it once this season against NYA — we did go four sets. I think it’s really great for the girls, they need that experience of longer matches. They can be draining, but they are also exciting to get beyond that third (game).”

« Previous

Next »

Related Stories