OLYMPIA, Wash.  –  A strong opening set and a solid closing set proved to be the difference as the Northwest Eagles defeated the Evergreen Geoducks, 25-14, 25-22, 24-26, 25-16, in a Cascade Conference volleyball match on Tuesday night at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.

In the first set, it was all Northwest (3-5, 1-2 CCC) as the Eagles flew out to a 12-3 lead over the Geoducks (0-8, 0-3 CCC).  Northwest continued to cruise, leading 24-10, before the Geoducks finally woke up, landing five straight points before the Eagles clinched the frame, 25-14.

In the second set, the Geoducks had a strong game hitting, with 12 kills and just five errors on 36 attacks but six service errors by the green and white allowed Northwest to steal the set, 25-22.  The Eagles managed 10 kills with five errors on 34 attacks for a .147 clip in the second frame.

The third set looked to be going Northwest’s way early but a six-point Geoduck swing put Evergreen ahead 18-17.  The teams continued to trade points before a kill by Cassidy Watkins (Tucson, Ariz./Trevecca Nazarene Univ.) and an attack error by NU’s Arika Zwack gave the Geoducks, the 25-24 set three win to force a fourth game.

Northwest took control of the fourth set early and the Geoducks could never close the gap at the Eagles cruised to a 25-16 set four win to clinch the match.  The Eagles had their top hitting set of the match, putting down 17 kills with just two errors on 46 attacks for a .326 clip.  On the other side of the net, the Geoducks managed 11 kills with six errors on 45 attacks for a .111 hitting percentage.

The Geoducks were led by 14 kills from Watkins, who also added 11 digs on the night.  Sasha Nash (Salt Lake City, Utah/Skyline HS) added 23 assists to go with a team-high 19 digs while Brittany Covert (Chino Hills, Calif./Northern Michigan Univ.) earned four blocks on the match.

Northwest was led by 18 kills from Olivia Vandlac.  Ashton Arbuthnot had 43 assists on the night while Heather Shulke, the reigning CCC Libero of the Week, led all players with 21 digs.

Both teams will play their next match at CRC Gymnasium as the Eagles head back down to Olympia to participate in the Evergreen Red Lion Invitational.  Northwest will open up tournament action on Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. against Columbia Bible, followed by the Geoducks and Simon Fraser at 5 p.m.  Camosun and Lewis & Clark will also be participating in the tournament, and will face off at 7 p.m.

Box Score

OLYMPIA, Wash.  –  Holding the Evergreen Geoducks to just .011 attacking, the College of Idaho Coyotes earned a straight-set win, 25-14, 25-18, 25-17, in a Cascade Conference volleyball match on Saturday night at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.

In the first set, the ‘Yotes (5-4, 2-0 CCC) took the initial lead on a kill by Kylie Porter and never looked back as the Geoducks (0-7, 0-2 CCC) struggled to find their attack, hitting -.100 on the frame.  On the other side, College of Idaho hit .133 with 11 kills and seven errors on 30 attacks as they earned the 25-14 win.

The second set again started positively for CI as the ‘Yotes earned the first five points to build a lead.  The Geoducks had their top hitting set, putting down 10 kills, but the ‘Yotes had their best set as well, collecting 15 kills with just four errors on 33 attacks for a .333 clip as CI earned the 25-18 win.

The Geoducks actually held a brief lead early in the third set but a five-point CI swing put the ‘Yotes back in control and College of Idaho put down the final five points as well to earn the 25-17 win and clinch the match, three sets to none.

Evergreen was led by 10 kills from Cassidy Watkins (Tucson, Ariz./Trevecca Nazarene Univ.).  Sonja Arrasi-Nash (Salt Lake City, Utah/Westminster) dug out 11 balls while Brittany Covert (Chino Hills, Calif./Northern Michigan Univ.) had her hands on a pair of blocks.

College of Idaho was led by nine kills from Jessica Peacock and seven each from Kylee Nawahine, Sofia Anxo and Porter.  Kelsey Soos dished out 25 assist on the night while Janel Porter had a match-high 12 digs.

The Geoducks won’t have to wait long to get back on the court as they play host to Northwest in a CCC match on Tuesday night, beginning at 7 p.m. at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.

Box Score

OLYMPIA, Wash.  –  Following a close start to the match, the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers put on the gas to sweep the Evergreen Geoducks, 25-18, 25-13, 25-15, in a Cascade Conference volleyball match on Friday evening at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.

In the first set, Eastern Oregon (7-2, 1-0 CCC) and Evergreen (0-6, 0-1 CCC) kept it close as the Mounties only led by a pair midway through the set.  EOU eventually pulled out ahead, using a 7-1 run to collect the 25-18 set one victory.  The Mounties hit .367 in the first frame, connecting for 14 kills and three errors on 30 attacks.  On the other side of the net, the Geoducks had their top hitting set of the match, putting down 12 kills with eight errors on 35 attacks for a clip of .114.

A run of nine straight points gave Eastern Oregon the early advantage in set two as the Geoducks couldn’t come back, allowing the Mounties to take a two-set lead with a 25-13 win.  EOU hit .429 on the frame with 15 kills and three errors on 28 attacks.  The Geoducks were in the negative, hitting -.036 with seven kills and eight errors on 28 total swings.

Another nine-point run put the Mounties in control of set three as the Geoducks had another poor-hitting frame.  Evergreen hit just -.061 in the final set, putting down six kills with eight errors on 33 attacks.  On the other side, EOU hit just .156 but their 11 kills and six errors on 32 attacks was enough to collect the 25-15 win and the match, three sets to none.

Evergreen was led by seven kills from Brittany Covert (Chino Hills, Calif./Northern Michigan Univ.).  Merideth Gurr (Tacoma, Wash./Tacoma CC) led all players with 13 digs on the night while Sasha Nash (Salt Lake City, Utah/Skyline HS) led the Geoducks with nine assists on the match.

Eastern Oregon was led by a match-high 10 kills from Katie Keeney.  Jessica Perron finished with 26 assists on the match while Alisha Crane had her hands in four blocks on the night.  EOU outblocked the Geoducks six to four on the night.

Evergreen returns to the court on Saturday night when they play host to College of Idaho.  Eastern Oregon continues their road trip as well on Saturday when they travel to Kirkland, Wash. to take on Northwest.  Both matches are set to begin at 7 p.m.

Box Score

LIBERTY LAKE, Wash.  –  After nearly collecting their first win in 25 tries, the Evergreen Geoducks concluded action at the Cascade/Frontier Red Lion Challenge at the HUB Sports Center in Liberty Lake, Wash.

Montana Tech 3, Evergreen 2 – Box Score

For the first time since Sept. 17, 2010, the Evergreen Geoducks forced a fifth and deciding set but it was the Montana Tech Orediggers who collected the win.  Evergreen took the first set, 25-23, before the Diggers took the lead with 25-15 and 25-17 wins in sets two and three.  The Geoducks battled tough with their backs against the wall, taking set four by a final of 25-22 before Montana Tech powered ahead with a 15-7 fifth set win to take the match.

Evergreen was led by 13 kills from junior Brittany Covert (Chino Hills, Calif./Northern Michigan).  Cassidy Watkins (Tucson, Ariz./Trevecca Nazarene)  added 11 kills to go with four aces.  As a team, the Geoducks put down 41 kills for a hitting percentage of .107.

Montana Tech was led by a match-high 20 kills from Shersteen Cline.  Sydney Norris added 17 kills for the Diggers.

Montana State-Northern 3, Evergreen 0 – Box Score

After a lengthy break following the exciting five-set match, the Geoducks couldn’t keep up with the Skylights of Montana State-Northern, falling in straight sets, 25-17, 25-13, 25-18.

Evergreen was led by seven kills from senior Sonja Arrasi-Nash (Salt Lake City, Utah/Westminster).  Hapa Patcho (Waipahu, Hawai’i/Ke Kula Kaiapuni ‘O Anuenue) added 12 assists to go with 12 digs.

MSUN was led by nine kills from Kelsey Williams as neither team had a player with double-digit kills.  Shayla Bly was impressive for the Skylights, recording seven service aces with 19 assists on the match.

The Geoducks return to Olympia next week as they will open up Cascade Conference, hosting Eastern Oregon on Friday night.

LIBERTY LAKE, Wash.  –  The Evergreen Geoducks kept things competitive but dropped a pair of straight-set losses on day two of the Cascade/Frontier Red Lion Challenge at HUB Sports Center in Liberty Lake, Wash.

Great Falls 3, Evergreen 0 – Box Score

In the Geoducks’ first match of the day, Evergreen put together two solid sets against the Argos, sandwiched around a frame that the green and white would rather soon forget, falling in straight sets, 25-12, 25-6, 25-16.

Junior Cassidy Watkins (Tucson, Ariz./Trevecca Nazarene) paced the Geoducks with seven kills on the match.  Freshman Hapa Patcho (Waipahu, Hawai’i/Ke Kula Kaiapuni ‘O Anuenue) added six kills for Evergreen while Kameo Dela Cuadra (Salinas, Calif./Hartnell College) put up 18 assists in her second match for the Geoducks.

Great Falls was led by 10 kills each from Kelsey Vanuden and Devon Bogart.  Averi Pasma finished with 18 assists while Kila Adams had 15 assists of her own. UGF hit .378 on the match, putting down 40 kills with just nine errors.

Montana Western 3, Evergreen 0 – Box Score

The Geoducks played their best match of the weekend thus far but it wasn’t enough to earn the win, falling to Montana Western in straight sets, 25-16, 25-18, 25-21.

After trailing but keeping things close for the first two frames, Evergreen got off to a hot start in the third set but the Bulldogs showed their teeth, climbing back to collect the sweep for their fourth win of the season.

Evergreen was led by 12 kills from Watkins.  Brittany Covert (Chino Hills, Calif./Northern Michigan) added six kills in her Geoduck debut while Patcho finished with six kills and 18 assists on the match.

Montana Western was led by 12 kills from Bailey Branson.  Paige Latimer put up 34 assists as the Bulldogs hit .371 on the match with 44 kills and 11 errors on 89 total attacks.

The Geoducks wrap up tournament play on Saturday when they take on Montana Tech at Noon, followed by a match against Montana State-Northern at 6 p.m.