GARDEN CITY, KANSAS – The Eastern Wyoming College (EWC) Lady Lancers opened the 2024 season on a high note, posting a 3-1 record at the Scooter’s Coffee Invitational hosted by Garden City Community College in Kansas from August 22-24.

Kicking the tournament off with a win, the Lady Lancers defeated the host, 3-1, in the opening game on Thursday. 

EWC triumphed over Lamar Community College, 3-1, on Friday afternoon.

Early Saturday morning, the Lady Lancers squared off against Northeast Community College from Norfolk, Nebraska. EWC battled the Hawks through four neck-and-neck sets that ultimately came down to only a few points before falling, 3-1.

Regrouping on Saturday afternoon, the Lady Lancers swept Frank Phillips College out of Borger, Texas, 3-0.

EWC played WNCC on Tuesday, August 27, at an away game. Results were not available at press time.

Game 1 – Garden City

The Lady Lancers trounced Garden City in the first set, 25-16. Garden City rallied to win a close second set, 25-22.

Undeterred, EWC defeated Garden City in the third set, 25-17, before going on to win the fourth set, 25-20.

Freshman outside hitter Una Stepic led the Lady Lancers in kills against Garden City at 12. Freshman outside hitter Amarie Huntsman and sophomore opposite hitter Julia Dolan both contributed 10 kills.

Sophomore setter Emma Blackstar delivered 22 assists, followed by freshman setter Kailey Duncan at 21. 

Sophomore libero Boden Liljedahl tallied 27 digs throughout three sets. Sophomore middle blocker Siala Unufe totaled seven blocks and aced three serves.

Game 2 – Lamar College

EWC hit the ground running against Lamar Community College and soundly won the first set, 25-11. 

Lamar fought the Lady Lancers beyond 21 points in the second set before EWC scored four crucial points to prevail, 25-21.

The third set came down to the wire as well, with Lamar pulling out the win, 25-21. 

Leaving it all on the court in the fourth set, EWC came together to defeat Lamar, 25-13.

Dolan set the pace for the Lady Lancers on offense, posting 11 kills. Stepic collected eight kills with Unufe at seven and Huntsman at six.

Blackstar had 21 assists as setter through three sets. Liljedahl tallied 15 digs while Stepic aced two serves.

Freshman middle blocker Mina Milivojevic led EWC on defense with four blocks.

Game 3 – Northeast Community College

The Lady Lancers won the first set, 25-17. 

A back-and-forth battle for the lead in the second set resulted in a tie at 24 points. Northeast edged up by two points to win the set, 26-24.

The second set also went beyond 25 points with Northeast ultimately prevailing, 27-25. Northeast won the fourth set by only two points, 25-23.

Dolan led the Lady Lancers on offense with 13 kills. Stepic and freshman opposite hitter Annika Cantrell both tallied 11 kills.

Setters Blackstar and Duncan recorded 18 and 17 assists, respectively. Liljedahl added 30 digs as libero throughout four sets. Unufe served up three aces.

Game 4 – Fred Phillips

The first neck-and-neck set resulted in a tie at 24 points before the Lady Lancers dug deep and scored the two points to win, 26-24.

Frank Phillips faltered in the second set and EWC picked up the win by a significant 25-13 margin. The Lady Lancers went on to defeat Frank Phillips in the third set, 25-18.

Stepic and Dolan set the momentum for the Lady Lancers on offense, collecting 13 kills apiece. Blackstar posted 28 assists as setter and Liljedahl tallied 17 digs as libero. Milivojevic, Unufe and Cantrell each had two blocks. Liljedahl aced two serves.