EUGENE, OR– After a slow start to the match, No. 14 LC State Volleyball utilized an efficient and potent offense to rally back and defeat Bushnell University (Ore.), receiving votes in the national poll, 3-1 (18-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-18) on Friday in Eugene. The Warriors saw career nights from Teagan Scott and Abby Beaton, as well as strong offensive performances from Taylor Boyce and Juliauna Forgach Aguilar.
The victory snapped a two-match skid for LC State and improved the Warrior record to 10-2 overall and 7-2 in Cascade Conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Bushnell started the match with the momentum as LC State had more errors (8) then kills (7) in the frame. The Beacons took a 1-0 lead with a 25-18 win in the set, but LC State turned things around quickly and had just 10 errors through the next three sets.
BU took a 3-2 lead to start the second frame, but LC State responded with a run of five on kills by Scott, Forgach Aguilar and Beaton to jump in front 7-3. Kills by Scott and Beaton were followed by a block by Mikale Roy and Karissa Lindner and a swing by Boyce for a slim 11-8 advantage. Lindner, Forgach Aguilar and Beaton helped fuel a back-and-forth with kills to keep the margin at 16-13, and back-to-back kills by Scott and Boyce made it 21-16. The Warriors took the second set 25-20 with kills by Lindner, Forgach Aguilar and Beaton.
Kills by Roy, Beaton and Boyce, paired with an ace by Kadence Moore, gave LC State a 5-4 lead early in the third frame. Bushnell surged to pull ahead 17-11 before the Warriors came out of a timeout with an 8-1 run. Boyce and Lindner combined for four straight kills and an ace by Ashlyn Watt tied the frame 17-17. BU took a one-point lead, 18-17, but a blocks by Lindner and Scott put the Warriors in front 20-18.
The Beacons did not go away quietly and scored three times for a 21-20 edge, but LC State matched run of three with a kill by Lindner and a block by Lindner and Forgach Aguilar for a 23-21 lead. The teams sat tied at 24-24 before Forgach Aguilar and Beaton teamed up on back-to-back blocks to take the set 26-24.
The momentum stayed with the Warriors in the fourth frame as LC State jumped in front to a 7-2 lead with contributions from Lindner, Forgach Aguilar and Roy. A kill by Beaton and block by Lindner and Scott made it 10-5, and a kill by Boyce sparked a run of four with an ace by Stout, block by Lindner and Forgach Aguilar and kill by Forgach Aguilar to push the advantage to 14-6.
Forgach Aguilar added four blocks throughout the remainder of the set, Boyce tallied two and the Warriors put up two blocks to close out the night with a 25-18 win in the set.
STAT RECAP
Forgach Aguilar led the match with 21 kills on a .269 attack percentage and Boyce added 13. Beaton tallied a career-best 11 kills with a .391 hitting percentage and Scott dished out a career-high 47 assists.
Stosich led the back row with 20 digs and Stout collected 19. Lindner led the defensive efforts at the net with six total blocks to go with her six kills (.385), while Beaton and Forgach Aguilar each assisted on four blocks.
LC State outhit Bushnell .265-.217 and out blocked the Beacons 10-7.
