Fullerton, Calif. - The Golden Eagles volleyball team hit the court bright and early this morning, as they opened their 2019 season, with an 8:00am match, against Evergreen State College, in the first of two matches on the first day of the Summer Slam Tournament, hosted by Hope International University. La Sierra outlasted the Geoducks for a five-set victory in their first match of the season. In the second match of the day, the Golden Eagles fell to Montana Tech in straight sets, finishing the day with a record of 1-1.
La Sierra def. Evergreen, 3-2 (24-26, 25-18, 19-25, 25-20, 15-11)
In what proved to be a back-and-forth match, the Golden Eagles staved off defeat after fighting back from a 2-1 deficit. With the score tied at 11-11 in Set 4, La Sierra used a 10-3 run to give them a comfortable cushion and eventual set victory, pushing the match to a fifth set. The final set of the match was a tightly contested affair, which tilted in the Golden Eagles direction with the help of a 6-2 run to finish things off.
Senior outside hitter Kiana Krumm led all players with 17 kills and 15 digs. Adiva Joseph added 10 kills, while Trinity Wyscarver contributed six kills and seven digs in the win. Setter Angala Jensen also pitched in with six kills of her own, to go along with 35 assists and nine digs. Libero Kyrsti Photias had a match-high six service aces in addition to 12 digs.
Montana Tech def. La Sierra, 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-17)
Having exhausted much of their energy in a hard-fought early morning match, the Golden Eagles were unable to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Diggers from Montana Tech. The Diggers offense propelled them to victory, with the help of a .312 attack percentage, compared to only .025 for La Sierra. Montana's defense at the net also made things tough for the Golden Eagles, who finished with a total of 18 attack errors in the match.
La Sierra's attack was held in check with Krumm leading the way with a team-high six kills, while Joseph added four kills in the loss.
Next Up: The women's volleyball team is back in action on Thursday morning with two more matches at the Summer Slam Tournament. Their first match will be a 12pm match-up with Taylor University (Ind.), followed by a 4pm match versus William Carey University (Miss.). Both matches will be the first-ever competitions between the two schools in any sport.
