LEWISTON, ID – Friday night’s NAIA Top 25 matchup was one to remember for No. 11 LC State Volleyball as the Warriors swept No. 18 Northwest (Wash.) in dominant fashion. LC State took the contest with scores of 25-14, 26-24, 25-18 in a match highlighted by eight blocks and eight aces by the Warriors.
The Warriors hit at an impressive clip of .246 and held the Eagles to just .101 with the help of six blocks by Karissa Lindner and five by Juliauna Forgach Aguilar. Makenzie Stout continued her strong season at the service line with three aces.
The victory improves the LC State record to 13-3 overall and 10-3 in Cascade Conference play while Northwest sits at 13-6, 7-6.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first set was back and forth until NU pulled ahead 9-7. The Warriors answered with a big five-point swing thanks to kills by Teagan Scott and Forgach Aguilar, an ace by Ella Stosich and block by Lindner and Scott to take a 12-9 lead. A swing by Forgach Aguilar and ace by Kadence Moore pushed the margin to 16-12 and LC State ended the set 25-14 with nine straight points with kills by Lindner, Taylor Boyce and Abby Beaton.
Forgach Aguilar opened the second frame with a kill before another swing by the senior had the Warriors in front 5-2. Boyce, Beaton and Mikale Roy each added kills and a block by Forgach Aguilar and Beaton made it 10-6. A run of six points with two aces by Esther Kailiponi and a kill by Lindner gave LC State a 17-10 advantage.
Northwest responded with a 7-1 run to tie the set 21-21 until both were even at 24-24. A kill by Boyce gave the Warriors a one-point edge before a block by Alba Carpena and Beaton ended the set 26-24.
Stout started the third frame with an ace before kills by Beaton, Forgach Aguilar and Boyce, as well as a block by Lindner and Forgach Aguilar gave the Warriors a 6-5 lead. With the score tied 10-10, Forgach Aguilar notched a kill then teamed up with Lindner for a block to put LC State back in front.
Three kills by Boyce and one from Scott forced a Northwest timeout at 19-14 and Hannah Dotson added an ace to make it 20-14. Beaton tallied a kill before back-to-back aces by Stout for a 23-15 advantage, and Forgach Aguilar ended the match with a kill at 25-18.
STAT RECAP
Boyce and Forgach Aguilar tied for the match-high with 14 kills each, and Forgach Aguilar did so at a clip of .333. Beaton notched seven kills at .313. Scott dished out 33 assists to outperform the Eagles who had 31 as a team.
Lindner was a force at the net with six blocks and Forgach Aguilar added five. Stosich anchored the back row with a match-high 15 digs and Scott completed a double-double with 11 digs.
Stout led the contest with three aces and Kailiponi added two.
Kaitlyn Mickle led Northwest with 14 kills and Morgan Harter dished out 15 assists. Ellie Van Berkum collected 11 digs and Sydney Faber added 10.
UP NEXT
LC State hosts The Evergreen State College (Wash.) on Saturday at 4 p.m. for Pink Night.
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