LEWISTON, ID– Lewis-Clark State Volleyball checked out of the Hells Canyon Grand Invitational with a 2-0 record on the weekend thanks to a big win over No. 11 Montana Western. The Warriors rallied past the Bulldogs in four sets with scores of 29-27, 23-25, 25-20, 25-23. Ella Stosich collected a career-best 20 digs en route to MVP honors for the tournament, while Juliauna Forgach Aguilar and Abby Beaton were also named to the all-tournament team.
The hot start marks the first time the Warriors have gone undefeated in non-conference play to start the season since 2008.
“I’m so proud of the way our entire team battled,” coach Katie Palmer said. “We had contributions across the board. Juliauna was outstanding at the net, Taylor (Boyce) and Abby gave us big swings, and Teagan (Scott) and Esther (Kailiponi) ran the court with great poise. Defensively, Ella set the tone with 20 digs and Karissa’s (Lindner) presence at the net was huge. Truly, today’s match was a complete team win against a great opponent. Overall, the weekend was a great step forward for LC State Volleyball. We’re entering the Cascade Conference healthy with a great opportunity to keep getting better.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
A kill by Beaton got the afternoon started for the Warriors and Forgach Aguilar added kills and assisted on a block with Karissa Lindner for a 5-3 edge. UMW rallied to pull in front 12-11 before growing the advantage to 22-18 late in the set.
A pair of kills by Forgach Aguilar cut the margin to two, 23-21, before a run of three with tallies by Taylor Boyce and Teagan Scott knotted the score 24-24. The long set continued with another pair of kills by sophomores Scott and Boyce, and swings by Beaton and Forgach Aguilar fought off UMW for a 29-27 set victory.
The Bulldogs bounced back in the second frame and took a 6-2 lead out of the gate. Kills by Beaton and Alba Carpena tied the set 6-6, but Western responded to jump ahead 16-13. Carpena, Ashlyn Watt and Forgach Aguilar combined for a three-point run to tie things up once again, and LC State used a six-point run with contributions from Forgach Aguilar, Linder and Kadence Moore to gain a 22-20 edge.
UMW struck for a 5-1 run to take the second frame 25-23.
The start of the third set was a back-and-forth battle until five Warrior points gave LC State an 8-5 lead. Lindner started the run with a kill, Watt added an ace and Beaton capped it with another kill. Carpena and Beaton each tallied two kills in a 4-1 run for a 14-8 lead before Western cut the difference to 16-14.
Boyce notched two kills, Beaton added one and Esther Kailiponi dealt an ace to grow the lead to 20-15. Forgach Aguilar, Carpena and Lindner fueled a four-point run to end the set 25-20.
After two quick points by Montana Western in the fourth frame, the Warriors answered with four straight on kills by Boyce, Forgach Aguilar and Carpena and a block by Carpena and Beaton. The Bulldogs rallied with a run of five to pull in front 7-4 and led until 17-14.
After an effective timeout by LC State, the Warriors scored four straight points with kills by Jordynn Albright and Lindner, along with an ace by Makenzie Stout, to take an 18-17 advantage. Another back-and-forth ensued until a pair of kills by Forgach Aguilar had the contest at match point, and Moore ended it was an ace at 25-23.
STAT RECAP
Moore’s third ace of the contest earned the Warriors’ their third win of the season and was one of eight by the team in the match. Moore led with three while Watt and Kailiponi each had two.
Forgach Aguilar led the match with 19 kills and tied for the team-high with five blocks along with Lindner. Boyce added 13 kills and Beaton and Carpena each had nine.
Stosich had a career night with 20 digs in the contest and Hannah Dotson collected 11. Scott led the setters with 25 assists to go with 18 from Kailiponi.
HELLS CANYON GRAND INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Ella Stosich (MVP) – LC State (Idaho)
Juliauna Forgach Aguilar – LC State (Idaho)
Abby Beaton – LC State (Idaho)
Sahara Browning – Walla Walla (Wash.)
Yaimaris Garcia – Walla Walla (Wash.)
Haley Tedrow – Arizona Christian
Madison Van Wie – Arizona Christian
Kennedy Lingenfelter – Montana Western
Jordan Olson – Montana Western
UP NEXT
Cascade Conference play begins next weekend when the Warriors host a pair of the NAIA’s top teams. LC State takes on No. 6 Southern Oregon on Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. and Oregon Tech, receiving votes in the national poll, on Sept. 6 at 4 p.m. in the P1FCU Activity Center.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
