First Weekend of the Red Lion Challenge Wraps Up
RED LION RESULTS PAGE
SPOKANE, Wash. – After a day full of shutouts, the third day of the Red Lion Cascade/Frontier Conference Challenge seemed like the complete opposite.
Four of the first six volleyball matches inside the HUB Sports Complex went to five sets, with the other two matches closing in four sets. Saturday was a complete contrast to the second day of the challenge, which ended with all 10 matches finishing as three-set sweeps.
“It was a great day to be a volleyball fan,” Cascade Collegiate Conference Sports Information Director Barrett Henderson said. “My only guess is that after watching teams play for two full days, the programs began to recognize opponents’ strengths and weaknesses, and gain some familiarity with the opponents. Whatever the case was, I know the people inside the HUB enjoyed it.”
The final day in the challenge for volleyball opened with an intriguing matchup, as entering the day Eastern Oregon and Montana State-Northern were both unbeaten in the challenge. MSUN snapped the Mountaineers 15-set win streak, taking the opening set. But, it was Eastern that responded winning the next three sets to take the match. The Lights’ Joni Nagy recorded a triple-double with 16 kills, 24 assists, and 27 digs.
In one of the more exciting matches of the day, Warner Pacific held on to beat Montana Western in five sets. The Knights won the first two sets, before falling in the third and fourth sets. In the pivotal final set, WPC edged the Bulldogs in extra volleyball, 19-17. Rylie Engelson had the second triple-double of the day with 11 kills, 20 assists, and 15 digs. Paige Latimer had 44 assists for UMW.
Simultaneous five-set matches occurred with the 12 p.m. matchups. On Court 2, Great Falls escaped with a 3-2 win over Corban. The Argos had 61 kills as a team, led by Kelsey Vanuden’s 20 kills. The Warriors won the first set and had a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth set, but UGF took momentum and the match.
On Court 1, The Evergreen State College jumped out to an early lead over Montana Tech and won the opening set. But, it was the OreDiggers that answered with two straight sets taking the lead. The Geoducks stole the flow of the match back winning the fourth set, 25-22. Thanks to a 77-dig effort as a team, including 30 digs from Kimmy Kavran, Tech took the final set 15-7.
With matches running long, the 2 p.m. matches were delayed over an hour. Fresh-off the five-set win, Montana Tech improved to 5-1 with a four-set victory over Warner Pacific. Just as it did in the previous match, Tech lost the first set only to still win the match. Alison Lunde had 42 assists for the OreDiggers, while Kavran added 31 more digs.
Northwest picked up a big win defeating No. 21 Carroll, unbeaten in the challenge entering the match, in five sets. In a back-and-forth battle that featured 16 ties, and six lead changes, it was the Eagles that pulled out the victory. Ashton Arbuthnot had 26 assists for NU, Heather Shulke had 33 digs, and Sarah Stoker was in on six blocks.
At the Dwight Merkel Sports Complex in the final men’s soccer match of the challenge, Oliver Gore found the back of the net twice for Rocky Mountain College, as the Bears beat Warner Pacific. RMC finishes their two games at the challenge outscoring opponents, 6-0. Joachim Soderstrom posted a pair of shutouts in the net for Rocky Mountain. Mikey Wall had an assist on one of Gore’s goals.
Twenty miles away, back inside the HUB, Corban recorded the lone sweep of the day with a three-set win over Montana Western. After a thrilling first set that finished 28-26, the Warriors seized control of the match. It was Corban’s first win of the young season.
On Court 2, Great Falls completed the challenge with only one loss after defeating Northwest in four sets. The Argos won the first two sets, before NU won the third and forced a fourth set.
Carroll ended Eastern’s bid at a perfect finish at the inaugural challenge in the final match on Court 1. The Saints fell behind after losing the first set, but won the second and third sets. The Mountaineers responded by dominating the fourth set, winning 25-8. In the final set, trailing 12-11, EOU scored three unanswered points to have match-point. But, the Saints had the final answer with four consecutive points to win the match.
The last finish of the challenge in volleyball saw another team finish 4-1. Montana State-Northern swept Evergreen in three sets. Nagy and Shayla Bly combined for all 35 the Lights’ assists.
FINAL STANDINGS
Volleyball
Carroll 4-1
Eastern Oregon 4-1
Great Falls 4-1
Montana Tech 4-1
MSU-Northern 4-1
Northwest 2-3
Warner Pacific 1-2
Northwest Christian 1-3
Corban 1-4
Montana Western 1-4
Evergreen 0-5
Men’s Soccer
Great Falls 2-0
Rocky Mountain 2-0
Northwest Christian 0-2
Warner Pacific 0-2