Evergreen Finally Catches Wolves in Four Sets
OLYMPIA - It may not have been pretty, but a win is a win and The Evergreen State College will take it.
The Geoducks (4-4 overall, 1-0 CCC) opened the Cascade Collegiate Conference season on Wednesday night with a 25-15, 25-13, 26-28, 25-21 volleyball victory over the visiting Walla Walla University Wolves inside Costantino Recreation Center.
Playing their home opener, the Geoducks were sharp early, hitting .208 in the first set and then a very impressive .469 in the second. At that point it looked like a short night for both teams. That seemed even more likely when Evergreen took a 14-8 lead midway through the third set. The Wolves, for their part, would have none of it, eventually battling back to tie the score at 19-19 on a dual block by Sarah Halverson and Caldora Blackburn.
With Walla Walla leading 24-22, the Geoducks were able to rally back to tie the score, but the Wolves eventually won it on a kill by Lauren Barlow.
The fourth set looked like a repeat of the third as the Wolves again battled from behind, at one point trailing 16-10 before tying the score at 18-18. That's when Evergreen pulled away on successive kills by Natalie taylor, Renita Gray and Bethanie Nelson. Kills by Lehualani Keka and Taylor closed out the set and the match.
After struggling with a negative hitting percentage in the third set, the Geoducks came back to hit .222 in the fourth set and ended the match with an overall mark of .174. Walla Walla, meanwhile, hit .152 as a team.
Taylor led Evergreen with 14 kills, followed closely by Chloee Hunt with 13 and a .423 attack percentage. Ashtyn Bagby recorded 23 assists and Matalasi Laban added 20, while Megan Breckenridge and Cheyenne Baird both had 14 digs to lead the home team in that category.
The Geoducks won the serving battle in a big way with 17 aces, including eight by Laban and three each by Breckenridge and Tori Wegdahl.
For Walla Walla, Barlow was a standout with 15 kills, a .273 attack percentage and a match-high 15 digs, while Morgan Doyle contributed nine kills and a .438 attack rate.
Both teams face Northwest University next, Walla Walla playing the Eagles in Kirkland on Thursday and the Geoducks hosting the Eagles at 5 p.m. Saturday.