College Place, Wash. – The Wolves hosted the
Geoducks of Evergreen State College who sat in second place atop of the Cascade Collegiate Conference coming into Thursday's matchup. The
Geoducks (6-7, CCC 4-0) would use late set runs to keep the Wolves (0-6, CCC 0-5) winless in conference play, beating them in straight sets (25-17, 25-15 and 25-11) and improving to 4-0 on the season.
In set one, the Wolves looked to continue their serve/receive improvement that head coach Scott Schafer recently addressed after the Wolves previous match against Oregon Tech. The Wolves responded as they battled back and forth with the
Geoducks, led by kills from Lauren Barlow and
Jenn Bosler. With the game knotted at 16, the
Geoducks would end set one on a 9-1 run, as the Wolves attack would fall just short of an opening set victory, falling to the
Geoducks 25-17.
Set two was no different, as the Wolves and
Geoducks battled for the first 20 points of the game, highlighted by kills from both squads. With the score knotted in a 10-10 tie, the
Geoducks would go on a 7-2 run that would push their lead to five over the Wolves. This would be the difference in the set, as the Wolves were not able to put a run together and convert free balls into points. The Wolves would fall in set two, 25-15.
In set three, the Wolves looked to put the previous two sets behind them and start off quickly. They would do so with kills by Morgan Doyle and Lauren Barlow, however the
Geoducks would score the next five points and put the Wolves in catchup mode the rest of the way. The Wolves would eventually fall short and would lose the decisive set, 25-11.
The Wolves were led by senior Lauren Barlow (7 kills and 11 digs) and setter Krista Schafer (19 assists and 8 digs).
The
Geoducks were led by Red Lyon Player of the Week Sierra Wolff (23 assists) and
Lehualani Keka (10 kills and 3 service aces).
By the Numbers
WWU 49 digs, ESC 48 digs
WWU 20 kills, ESC 35 aces
WWU 3 aces, ESC 11 aces
The Wolves look to rebound on Sunday, September 16. The Lady Wolves will host the Eagles of Northwest University in their first matchup of the conference season. The match will start at 1PM on
Windemuth Court. The
Geoducks continue their road trip, traveling east to take on No. 21-ranked Eastern Oregon University on Friday, September 14.