LEWISTON, Idaho – No. 12 LC State Volleyball had reason to celebrate on Saturday, despite a 3-0 loss (25-23, 30-28, 25-23) to No. 20 Bushnell (Ore.). The Warriors honored three impactful seniors before the contest in
Abby Beaton,
Esther Kailiponi and
Juliauna Forgach Aguilar.
The loss has LC State in a tie for third place in the Cascade Conference standings with Bushnell as the two share a conference record of 12-6. The Warriors are now 15-6 overall on the season and the Beacons are 18-10.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first set was a back-and-forth with Bushnell in front by a slim margin. Kills by
Alba Carpena, Beaton, Forgach Aguilar and
Karissa Lindner, along with an ace by
Ashlyn Watt, had the Warriors within one at 7-6. The Beacons pulled ahead 15-9 before three straight points by Forgach Aguilar and
Ella Stosich cut the difference to 15-12. A late rally by LC State with kills by Forgach Aguilar and blocks by Forgach Aguilar, Beaton and Carpena made it 24-23, but Bushnell hung on to take the set 25-23.
The second frame was just as close and extended into extra points. Blocks by Carpena, Beaton, Lindner and Forgach Aguilar and an ace by Stosich gave LC State a 3-1 edge, but the Beacons rallied to jump in front 9-5. The lead moved to 16-11 before kills by Forgach Aguilar and Lindner and a block by the pair cut the margin to 18-16. The Warriors took a 22-20 lead after a block by
Teagan Scott and Beaton and kills by Beaton and Boyce gave the Warriors set point at 24-22. Bushnell and the Warriors traded points with the Beacons outlasting LC State in the 30-28 marathon.
Bushnell carried the momentum into a 6-1 lead in the third frame. Three kills by Boyce got the Warriors offense going and points from Beaton and Carpena had LC State within two at 12-10. The Warriors rallied to pull ahead 18-16 on a 7-1 run with three kills by Forgach Aguilar, but the Beacons responded quickly to regain the lead at 21-18. Despite late kills by Boyce and Forgach Aguilar to bring the score to 24-23, the Beacons ended the contest with a kill by Soleil Sands at 25-23.
STAT RECAP
Forgach Aguilar led the contest with 17 kills on a .361 attack percentage while Beaton and Boyce each added eight. Scott dished out a match-high 30 assists.
Stosich led all players in the match with 19 digs and Forgach Aguilar added seven. Beaton led the contest with a career-high six blocks and Carpena had four.
Bushnell's Hailey Heider led the Beacons with 14 kills. Setters Emma Fa'alogo and Katie Belitz dished out 17 and 15 assists, respectively, and Amyah Semau led Bushnell with 12 digs. Sands put up five blocks while Leah Agost and Aliyah Malone each assisted on four.
UP NEXT
LC State wraps up the regular season on the road with matches at No. 18 College of Idaho and No. 2 Eastern Oregon next weekend.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
