CALDWELL, ID – Despite edging No. 18 College of Idaho in nearly every stat category, the Yotes edged No. 12 LC State in five sets on Friday. C of I took the hard-fought contest by set scores of 25-21, 13-25, 19-25, 27-25, 15-8.
Teagan Scott highlighted the match for the Warriors with a career-high 49 assists and Juliauna Forgach Aguilar tallied 22 kills.
The loss has LC State at 15-7 overall and 12-7 in Cascade Conference play. The Warriors need a victory on Saturday to avoid a play-in match in the CCC Tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED
C of I got off to a strong start with a 3-0 lead in the first set. Kills by Taylor Boyce and Forgach Aguilar put the Warriors in front 5-4 as the back-and-forth continued. The Yotes pulled ahead 10-7 before five straight LC State points with kills by Abby Beaton and Boyce, along with an ace by Kadence Moore, gave the Warriors a 12-10 edge. C of I rallied to regain the lead at 16-12 and pushed the margin to 21-15.
A kill by Alba Carpena started a five-point Warrior run that was aided by kills from Karissa Lindner and Forgach Aguilar to pull LC State within one, 20-21, but the Yotes finished off the frame 25-21.
The Warriors took a commanding 12-3 lead in the second set. LC State saw points from Forgach Aguilar, Mikale Roy, Beaton and Boyce in the span. Swings by Boyce and a block by Lindner and Scott had the advantage at 15-4. The Warriors closed out the frame with a six-point run with four kills by Forgach Aguilar and an ace by Hannah Dotson in the 25-13 set.
The momentum carried into the third set after a point by C of I opened the frame. Ella Stosich dealt an ace and kills by Roy and Forgach Aguilar fueled the six-point run for a 6-1 lead. The Yotes kept the score close but kills by Lindner and Roy and an ace by Makenzie Stout made the margin 15-11, and an ace by Dotson and kill by Forgach Aguilar made it 20-14. Boyce notched three kills to push the set to a 25-19 win for the Warriors.
Kills by Lindner and Forgach Aguilar and aces by Stosich and Dotson had LC State out to a 7-2 lead in the fourth set, but the Yotes kept things close after that. Esther Kailiponi served an ace and swings by Boyce and Forgach Aguilar made it 15-11, and a kill by Beaton had the lead at 19-15. College of Idaho struck for six straight points to take a 21-19 lead late in the frame, but errors gave LC match point twice. C of I rallied for three consecutive points to take the frame 27-25.
The Yotes surged out to a 6-0 lead in the final set, but the Warriors answered with five points on kills by Beaton and Lindner, an ace by Stosich and block by Lindner and Forgach Aguilar to cut the difference to one. C of I maintained control to end the match 15-8.
STAT RECAP
Forgach Aguilar led the match with 22 kills, Boyce added 17 and Lindner tallied 10 with a .562 attack percentage. Scott led the contest with a career-high 49 assists, and Stosich and Dotson each had three service aces.
Stosich led the back row with 21 digs, Stout collected 14 and Moore and Dotson each had seven. Lindner put up four blocks and Forgach Aguilar assisted on three.
UP NEXT
LC State concludes the regular season on Saturday against No. 2 Eastern Oregon in La Grande, Ore., at 5 p.m.
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