LEWISTON, ID – No. 17 LC State Volleyball suffered its first loss of the season on Friday at the hands of No. 1 Eastern Oregon. The Warriors took a set off the top-ranked team in the NAIA, but EOU gained momentum late to take control of the match and defeat LC State 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-14).
The loss leaves EOU as the lone undefeated team left in the Cascade Conference (15-0, 7-0) and moves LC State into second place in the standings (9-1, 6-1).
“I’m extremely proud of how we fought in the first two sets tonight,” coach Katie Palmer said. “We served aggressively, we dug hard balls, and our middles showed up big when we needed them. Juliauna Forgach Aguilar had to work extremely hard for her 18 kills against the best block in the country, and Ella Stosich showed her grit through 21 digs and four aces. Most importantly, I want to thank the 1,089 fans who filled the P1FCU Activity Center. We tell our recruits that they’re coming to a community that loves them and today our fan’s showed why being a Warrior is so special. We’re looking forward to the challenge ahead in tomorrow’s match against a well-coached and athletic College of Idaho team.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first set was back-and-forth with the teams going point-for-point until a run by EOU had the Mountaineers up 11-7. A block by Forgach Aguilar and Abby Beaton sparked momentum for the Warriors and kills by Beaton and Taylor Boyce had LC State within two at 18-16.
Back-to-back swings by Forgach Aguilar and Boyce, and another by Karissa Lindner, had the Warriors within one, 20-19, before a big six-point run ended the set for the Warriors. A kill by Lindner and ace by Ella Stosich got the rally going and Alba Carpena added a kill. Stosich closed out the 25-21 set victory with two more aces.
LC State carried its momentum into the early part of the second frame. Kills by Forgach Aguilar, Lindner and Carpena, along with a block by Carpena and Beaton, had the Warriors out to a 6-2 early lead. The Mounties began to inch back, but a kill by Boyce and ace by Esther Kailiponi kept the margin at 14-9.
EOU struck for four straight points to make it a one-point difference, 14-13, and the lead changed hands with in back-and-forth fashion until the Mountaineers earned a 25-23 win on a 4-1 run.
Despite kills by Boyce and Beaton and a block by Forgach Aguilar and Beaton, EOU jumped out to a 5-4 lead in the third set. A kill by Lindner had the Warriors within two, 12-10 and contributions from Forgach Aguilar, Stosich and Beaton kept the score close, but a late surge led to a 25-18 win in the set for EOU.
Eastern Oregon continued its strong offense play with an 11-4 lead in the fourth frame. A block by Lindner and Boyce was part of a three-point run cut the difference to 14-9, but EOU remained in control to take the set 25-14.
STAT RECAP
Forgach Aguilar led the match with 18 kills while Beaton and Boyce each added eight. Beaton tallied her eight kills with a .667 attack percentage and Lindner hit .500 with five kills. Beaton led LC at the net with three block assists.
Teagan Scott led in assists with 30 and Stosich led all defenders with 21 digs. Scott completed her double-double with 15 digs and Kadence Moore collected 12. Stosich dealt four service aces.
EOU’s Keira Vaughn led the Mounties with 16 kills at a clip of .455 and Kiauna Mack tallied 14 with a .458 attack percentage. EOU hit .270 as a team. Kate Stidham dished out 24 assists and Ava Semprimoznik added 23. Brooke Womack led the team with 18 digs and Semprimoznik had 14. Jaycee Villastrigo led the contest with five service aces.
