Fast Start, Strong Finish Nets Geoducks a Victory
The Evergreen State College got off to a fast start and finished strong in sweeping the visiting Walla Walla University Wolves, 25-15, 25-21, 25-22, in a Cascade Collegiate Conference volleyball match played Sunday afternoon at CRC Gymnasium.
The Geoducks (3-13 overall, 3-8 CCC) hit .250 or better in the first two sets in putting an end to a nine-match losing skid. Walla Walla (5-10 overall, 2-8 CCC) put up a battle in the final set before finally falling to the host team.
Natalie Taylor knocked down four kills and Jorden Porter and Kelsey Delagrange had three apiece as the Geoducks rolled in the first set. They hit .250 as setter Kylie Kytan put up 13 of her match-high 27 assists. There were two ties early on but Evergreen never trailed, pulling away from a 4-4 deadlock to build a 10-6 lead on Taylor's kill, forcing a Walla Walla timeout. That stoppage didn't impede Evergreen's march to the set victory, however, as the Geoducks continued to add on until Porter finished it with a kill.
While the Geoducks hit even better in the second set with a .257 percentage, Walla Walla found some offensive spark and kept it close until the end.
Evergreen led by as many as four points early on before the Wolves rallied to take their first lead of the day on a Geoduck attack error. Facing an 11-10 deficit, the hosts scored five consecutive points on Taylor's serve. Walla Walla, facing a 20-15 deficit, scored four of the next five points to pull within two, but the Geoducks were able to hold on and scored the set's final two points on kills by Delagrange and Brooke Huffman.
Neither team hit particularly well in the final set, Walla Walla coming in at .033 and Evergreen at -.031, but the hosts had a strong finish to rally from a 17-11 deficit and pull out the set and match.
The Geoducks started out well, building an 11-7 lead before the Wolves ran off 10 straight points, nine on Morgan Doyle's serve. Maria Darling had four kills during the scoring surge.
Just when it seemed like Walla Walla would take the match to a fourth set, the Geoducks showed their resolve and rebounded to grab the victory. Taylor recorded a kill to start it, and a couple of minutes later used a strong serve – including a pair of aces – to give her team the momentum. When she was finished serving the Geoducks had regained the lead at 20-19. Later, with the score knotted at 22 apiece, the Geoducks closed it out on a Huffman kill and two Walla Walla errors.
Taylor led the Geoducks with 11 kills and five service aces, while Cheyenne Baird had a team-high nine digs. For Walla Walla, Darling led all players with 14 kills while hitting .400, and she also finished atop the digs column with 11. Evergreen finished with a .165 team attack percentage while Walla Walla ended at .089.
The Geoducks return to conference action next Friday when they play Oregon Tech in Klamath Falls, Ore.