KIRKLAND, Wash. – Warrior Volleyball opened the weekend with a Friday night five-set thriller in Kirkland to earn LC State's first victory over Northwest (Wash.) since 2022. The Warriors put together a total-team effort in the 3-2 win with set scores of 25-16, 15-25, 25-12, 20-25, 15-6.
Despite setbacks in sets two and four, LC State showed its resilience with big wins in sets three and five. The Warriors outplayed the Eagles in every facet of the contest.
The victory improves the LC State record to 5-3 on the season and 2-1 in Cascade Conference play. Northwest falls to 5-4 on the season and 0-1 in CCC action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
A long rally to start the match ended with a kill by
Abbey Neff before errors by NU and kill by
Juliauna Forgach Aguilar pushed the advantage to 4-1. Swings by
Missy Mortensen and Forgach Aguilar had the lead at 6-3, and
Anna Merrill and
Taylor Boyce went back-to-back with kills ahead of an ace by
Natany Felix Guimaraes. The three-point run gave LC a 9-5 advantage.
The Warriors continued their diverse attack with kills by Boyce, Forgach Aguilar,
Karissa Lindner and
Hallie Seaman, as well as three aces by
Makenzie Stout, to stay in front 16-9. The swing by Seaman launched a 10-point run that put LC firmly in front 21-9. Kills by Seaman, Forgach Aguilar and Mortensen closed out the set 25-16.
After two Warrior miscues put Northwest in front 2-0, a kill by Boyce and block by Lindner and Forgach Aguilar evened the score 2-2. Swings by Forgach Aguilar and Seaman kept things knotted 4-4 before an ace by
Ella Stosich gave LC back the lead to cap a three-point swing at 5-4. Back-to-back kills by Forgach Aguilar continued the back-and-forth, but the Eagles rallied to score 10 straight to take a commanding 17-7 lead. A swing by
Taylin Rowley ended the run, but NU carried its momentum to a 25-15.
A block by Lindner and Seaman and kill by Forgach Aguilar gave the Warriors energy before three straight kills by Mortensen and Merrill made it 6-2. Mortensen and Merrill teamed up at the net before each tallied a kill to add to the run. A block by Mortensen and Boyce capped the run at five points for an 11-4 LC State advantage.
Boyce added a kill and Neff dealt an ace before three straight errors by the Eagles grew the margin to 17-8. Kills by Forgach Aguilar and Seaman, along with consecutive block assists by Lindner and Seaman, capped the LC run at seven points with the Warriors in front 21-8. Forgach Aguilar added three more kills and Stosich served another ace to help LC State to a 25-12 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Forgach Aguilar put down the first Warrior kill of the fourth set and Merrill added to the 4-1 opening run. A kill by Mortensen and ace by
Gianna Anderson fueled a quick three-point stretch to grow the advantage to 7-3. The teams traded points with kills by Boyce, Lindner and Forgach Aguilar keeping the Warriors in front by four until the Eagles went on a 6-1 run to take a 13-12 lead in the frame.
NU miscues and an ace by Anderson helped LC regain the advantage at 15-13, but Northwest answered to take the lead. The Warriors battled back to tie the set on four occasions with kills by Merrill and Boyce. The Eagles pulled ahead 23-19 en route to the 25-20 set win to force a fifth frame.
Forgach Aguilar opened the final set with a kill before joining Mortensen at the net for a block to give LC a quick 2-0 edge. Mortensen added a kill ahead of a block with Merrill to make it 5-1. Forgach Aguilar tallied a kill out of an NU timeout and
Esther Kailiponi dealt an ace to make it five straight LC State points for a 7-1 advantage in the deciding set.
The teams switched sides with the Warriors ahead 8-2 and an ace by Anderson kept the momentum going. Kailiponi dumped a ball over the net and Merrill added a kill to make it 11-4 and kills by Lindner and Neff made it 13-5. Forgach Aguilar closed out the victory with back-to-back kills in the 15-6 set.
STAT RECAP
Forgach Aguilar led the contest with 22 kills on an impressive .386 attack percentage. The Warriors hit .276 as a team, aided by Mortensen's .667 mark on six kills. Neff and Kailiponi split setter duties with 22 and 20 assists, respectively, and Felix Guimaraes led the match with 18 digs.
Mortensen and Lindner each assisted on five blocks as LC State dominated at the net. The Warriors put up twice as many as NU with a 10-5 advantage. LC held the Eagles to a .105 attack percentage.
Stout and Anderson each dealt three service aces as part of the Warriors' 11 on the night.
UP NEXT
LC State continues the Seattle-area trip with a contest at Evergreen State (Wash.) on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
