LEWISTON, Idaho – The offensive power of
Juliauna Forgach Aguilar was on full display on Friday night, and LC State needed every bit of it to earn a five-set victory against the College of Idaho Coyotes who received votes in the latest national poll. The Warriors took the match by scores of 25-23, 21-25, 23-25, 25-19, 15-9 behind a career-high 32 kills by the junior outside hitter.
"Proud of the response after a really tough loss in set three to finish the match strong," Head Coach Katie Palmer said. "Everyone contributed tonight whether it was our bench with their energy or our middles playing a clean offensive match with no errors. Our servers had an attack mentality behind the service line which helped our defense slow College of Idaho down. Overall, I'm happy we were able to win against an extremely talented team with a rich history of success."
The Yotes had the edge in total kills and blocks, and the only two NAIA schools in Idaho matched dig totals, but the Warriors used 11 service aces to help get the job done. Forgach Aguilar's kill total ranks second-most all-time in a single match at LC State and is just one off the record.
The key victory improves the LC State record to 10-6 overall and 7-4 in Cascade Conference play. The College of Idaho falls to 9-9 overall and 5-5 in CCC action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The College of Idaho jumped out to an 11-7 lead early in the first frame before kills by
Hallie Seaman and Forgach Aguilar, along with a block by Seaman and
Karissa Lindner, cut the deficit to one at 11-10. Forgach Aguilar added two more kills to pair with an ace by
Esther Kailiponi to knot the score 14-14. Kills by Forgach Aguilar,
Anna Merrill and
Taylor Boyce helped LC State keep pace with the Yotes.
Trailing 23-19, a kill by Seaman sparked a run that propelled the Warriors to the set win. Forgach Aguilar added two kills and Lindner tallied one in the 6-1 run to close the frame at 25-23.
C of I answered by taking the next two sets. The Yotes took an 11-6 advantage in the second frame before an ace by
Abbey Neff and block by Boyce and Lindner helped a run of five tie things up 11-11. College of Idaho pulled ahead again, this time 20-15, but a rally capped by a kill by Boyce had LC State within two, 22-20. C of I closed out the set 25-21.
The beginning of the third was a back-and-forth battle until a five-point run put the Warriors in front 16-11. Forgach Aguilar tallied a kill,
Makenzie Stout served and ace and
Missy Mortensen,
Abby Beaton and Merrill combined for back-to-back blocks. A kill by Forgach Aguilar and block by Mortensen and Forgach Aguilar had the margin at 23-17, but attack errors plagued the Warriors and C of I rattled off eight straight points to take the set 25-23.
With their backs against the wall, LC State responded loudly with an 8-1 run to open the fourth frame. Kills by Seaman, Forgach Aguilar and Boyce fueled the rally along with two aces by Stout. A run of four straight kills by Boyce, Forgach Aguilar and Mortensen pushed the advantage to 14-5, and an ace by
Gianna Anderson made it 16-7. Boyce and Forgach Aguilar each added two kills in the final stretch for the 25-19 set win.
The Yotes started the deciding set with three points, but the Warriors answered with three on a kill by Forgach Aguilar, ace by
Ella Stosich and block by Lindner and Forgach Aguilar. Trailing 5-3, Forgach Aguilar struck for three straight kills to give LC State a 6-5 advantage.
An ace by Neff was followed by back-to-back kills by Boyce to move the set to 13-8, and Boyce added one more for set point at 14-9. In a perfect way to close the night, Forgach Aguilar slammed down a kill to close out the set 15-9 and give the Warriors a five-set win over the in-state rival.
STAT RECAP
Forgach Aguilar totaled nearly double the number of kills as the next closest player with her career-high 32. The mark is second-most by a Warrior in the single match and one off the record of 33 set by LC State Hall of Famer Joy Dunn in 1999. Forgach Aguilar now ranks second (32), fifth (27) and eighth (26) in kills in a single match.
Boyce added 17 kills to aid the offensive attack. Neff dealt 24 assists, Kailiponi added 17 and
Teagan Scott added four including the match-winner.
Natany Felix Guimaraes dealt a career-high eight assists, and Neff made it a double-double with 13 digs.
The Warriors totaled 11 service aces with three by Stout, two each from Neff, Stosich and Kailiponi and one from both Anderson and
Hannah Dotson.
On defense, Guimaraes led the contest with 29 digs. Dotson destroyed her previous career-best with 13 digs. Lindner and Forgach Aguilar led the Warriors at the net with five block assists each and Mortensen assisted on four.
Shelbey Nichol led C of I with 17 kills on a .333 attack percentage and Savannah Hutchins dealt 32 assists. Haley McUne collected 20 digs and Hutchins completed her double-double with 19 digs. Nichol and Abby Drahhici each assisted on six blocks.
UP NEXT
The Warriors host No. 3 Eastern Oregon to close out the weekend on Saturday. The match is slated for a 4 p.m. start in the P1FCU Activity Center.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
