Another Five-Set Heartbreaker for Evergreen
OLYMPIA – Evergreen battled Concordia through five grueling sets Friday night, but in the end the visiting Cavaliers rallied to defeat the Geoducks in a thrilling Cascade Collegiate Conference volleyball match played in CRC Gymnasium. Set scores were 23-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-21, 19-17.
Concordia came into the match in third place in the CCC standings and kept pace with conference leaders Eastern Oregon and Southern Oregon, improving to 10-2 in league and 13-6 overall. Evergreen is now 2-10 in the conference and 11-14 overall.
The Geoducks had struggled in recent action, but they played some of their best volleyball of the season in taking the first two sets from Concordia. They hit an impressive .429 in the first set, with Nicole Diehl recording six kills in seven attempts and both Nicole Pittelkau and Brandee Victorino adding a trio of kills. For Concordia, Nicole Barth and Dorsey both had five kills in the set and Concordia finished with a .297 attack percentage.
Evergreen fell behind 3-0 in the opening set, rallied back to tie it at 5-5, before Concordia opened up a 14-10 lead on a kill by Lindsey Dorsey. The Geoducks recorded four straight points, including a pair of kills by Diehl, to tie it at 14-14. The set was even at 22-22 when an attack error and a combined block by Victorino and Jaclyn Trinque gave the Geoducks set point at 24-22. Diehl finished it off with her sixth kill and the Geoducks had the first set.
Pittelkau pounded six kills and Victorino added an additional four as Evergreen won the second set. This time it was Evergreen that jumped out to a 3-0 lead, eventually taking a 7-2 advantage on a kill by Ivy Eakes. Trailing 12-8, Concordia went on a 7-1 run to take a 15-13 lead. With the score tied at 19-19, Evergreen scored three straight points on kills by Diehl, Pittelkau and Victorino. Eakes finished the set with a kill to give the home team a 2-0 lead at the break.
Through the first two sets Concordia, ranked second in the CCC in blocking, had only three team blocks. In the next three sets they added nine more, helping turn the tide of the match.
Evergreen's attack percentage dipped to .026 compared to .194 for Concordia in the third set, but the Geoducks gave themselves a chance to close out the match when they tied the score at 19-19 on Pittelkau's kill. Holding a 22-21 lead, Concordia scored the final three points, including a set-winning kill from Nicole Barth, who also had a solo block and block assist in the set.
The fourth set was more of the same with 11 ties and six lead changes. Diehl's kill gave Evergreen its final lead at 18-17, and the final tie came at 19-19 before the Cavaliers gradually pulled away for the set victory. Concordia was sharp in that set with a .379 attack percentage, with Dorsey collecting eight of her match-high 23 kills.
As if there wasn't enough action and excitement in the first four sets, the two teams pushed the deciding set into extra points before the Cavs picked up the 19-17 victory. They were at their best at the net with four team blocks, including a solo block and two block assists by setter Jenessa Taylor.
Incredibly, there were 11 more ties and six more lead changes in the fifth set. The Geoducks had a chance to win when they took a 15-14 lead on a service ace by Eakes, but a Concordia block tied it. The score was also tied at 16 and 17 before the Cavaliers closed it out on kills by Brianna Hogan and Barth.
Concordia finished with a .241 attack percentage. In addition to Dorsey's 23 kills, Brenna Huwe and Hogan both added 11. Taylor finished with 57 assists, Huwe had two solo blocks and three block assists, and Shantel Gritsch led with 14 digs. Concordia finished with 12 team blocks.
For Evergreen, both Diehl and Pittelkau had 18 kills, followed by Victorino with 12. Trinque had 47 assists and 11 digs, while Natimia Barker-Doss led all players with 26 digs. Evergreen finished with seven team blocks, with Matisse Davis getting one solo and three block assists.