OLYMPIA, Wash. – Throwing down a season-high 13 blocks, including eight from senior Brittany Covert (Chino Hills, Calif./Ayala HS/Northern Michigan Univ.), the Evergreen Geoducks picked up the four-set win over the Oregon Tech Hustlin’ Owls in a Cascade Conference volleyball match on Friday night at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.

The Geoducks (4-14, 3-10 CCC) got off to a big lead in the first set as Evergreen found themselves leading 13-5 following a 10-1 run.  Oregon Tech (12-15, 5-8 CCC) battled back and pulled back within one at 16-15 and eventually tied it up at 22 but the Geoducks dug deep to secure the 25-23 set one win.

Set two stayed tight the whole way with three lead changes and it looked late in the frame like the Owls might be able to even it up as Oregon Tech led 22-17.  Evergreen grabbed four quick points to pull within one and after the score was tied at 24-24, Covert picked up two solo blocks to give the Geoducks a 26-24 set two victory.

Oregon Tech reeled off the first five points in the third set and didn’t look back the rest of the way but Owls head coach Jason Corwin only saw the first half as he was ejected by the referees after disputing a back-row attack midway through the frame.  Dispute the disruption, OIT held on for the 25-21 set three win, mostly thanks to 18 kills with just seven errors on 36 total attacks for a match-high .306 hitting percentage.

After a tight start to the fourth set, the Geoducks blew it open with a six-point run that put Evergreen up 13-6 and the differential continued to grow as Evergreen took advantage of 13 Oregon Tech attack errors to collect the 25-14 set four win and clinch their third conference win of the year.

In addition to the eight blocks from Covert, the Geoducks were led by 22 kills from junior Victoria Love (Seaside, Calif./Seaside HS/Hartnell College).  Molly King (Centralia, Wash./Centralia HS/Tacoma CC) added 11 kills while Kelsey Delagrange (Longview, Wash./Kelso HS/Mt. Hood CC) put up 40 assists on 46 total Evergreen kills.

Oregon Tech was led by 17 kills from Marlee Smith.  Kayleigh Whelchel put up 26 assists while Victoria Porter came in for 18 assists.  Marie Baumann led all playeds with 23 digs on the night.  Oregon Tech had a strong night defensively as well, recording seven blocks on the match.

The Geoducks remain home on Saturday night as they host Southern Oregon, beginning at 7 p.m. at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.

Box Score

PORTLAND, Ore. –The 20th-ranked Concordia Cavaliers used a number of runs to pull away from the Evergreen Geoducks as the Cavs earned the three-set sweep in a Cascade Conference volleyball match on Saturday night in Portland, Ore.

The Cavaliers (18-4, 11-2 CCC) put the first five points on the board as the Geoducks (3-14, 2-10 CCC) found themselves behind from the very start.  Another seven-point run put Concordia ahead 17-4 as Evergreen simply couldn’t close the gap as they fell in set one, 25-11.

Set two was a bit more competitive as Evergreen held an early 9-8 lead but 10 straight Cavalier points put CU up, 18-9 and the Geoducks again couldn’t overcome the large deficit, falling 25-17 in set number two.

While Concordia never pulled off a large run in the third set, a number of small runs slowly but surely built a CU lead.  Throwing down a match-high 15 kills, the Cavaliers earned a 25-16 set three win to clinch the match in straight sets.

Evergreen was led by 11 kills from Victoria Love (Seaside, Calif./Seaside HS/Hartnell College).  Kelsey Delagrange (Longview, Wash./Kelso HS/Mt. Hood CC) put up 25 assists on 26 Evergreen kills while also recording a team-high 10 digs on the night.

Concordia was led by 11 kills from Melanie Miller and Brenna Huwe.  Lindsay Mangan added 33 assists to her totals while Leslie Hanks finished with 10 digs to lead the Cavs.  As a team, Concordia hit .360 on the night with 42 kills and 10 errors on 89 total swings.

The Geoducks return to Olympia next weekend, playing host to Oregon Tech on Friday night.  First serve with the Hustlin’ Owls is set for 7 p.m. at CRC Gymnasium.

Box Score

PORTLAND, Ore. – For the first time since 2010, the Evergreen Geoducks collected a Cascade Conference season sweep, dispatching the Warner Pacific Knights in four sets in a CCC volleyball match on Friday night at C.C. Perry Gymnasium in Portland, Ore.

The two squads kept things tight all night and the first set wasn’t any different.  With the Knights up 19-17 late, the Geoducks rallied to collect the 25-23 set one win.

Warner Pacific headed into the second set determined to get off to a quick start and it looked early like the Knights might be able to do just that.  Evergreen battled back to tie the set at 12-12 and the teams remained tight the rest of the way.

The Geoducks found themselves sitting at set point at 24-22 but WPC picked up a pair of quick points to tie the frame at 24-24.  After an Evergreen timeout, the gray-clad Geoducks forced a pair of WPC attack errors to take the 2-0 lead with a 26-24 set two win.

Early in the third set, it looked like the Geoducks would be headed towards their first sweep since 2008 but the Knight had other plans.  After Evergreen pushed the lead to 5-1, WPC battled back and the two squads played it tight, finding themselves tied at 18-18 late.  The Knights, determined to prevent the sweep, went on a 7-1 run to end the frame and earn the 25-19 set three win.

The fourth set looked a lot like the second set as Warner Pacific held the advantage early but the Geoducks were determined not to let victory slip away.  Down by a point a 14-13, the Geoducks went on a 6-0 run to pull ahead 19-14.  The Knights weren’t ready to lay down quite yet as a 10-3 run put them up by two at 24-22 but the Geoducks rattled off four straight points to earn the 26-24 win to clinch the match, three sets to one.

Evergreen was led by 13 kills each from Cassidy Watkins (Tucson, Ariz./Mountain View HS/Trevecca Nazarene Univ.) and Molly King (Centralia, Wash./Centralia HS/Tacoma CC).  CCC kills leader Victoria Love (Seaside, Calif./Seaside HS/Hartnell College) finished with 12 kills on the night while Kelsey Delagrange (Longview, Wash./Kelso HS/Mt. Hood CC) put up 44 assists on 51 total Evergreen kills.

Warner Pacific was led by 25 kills from Julia Toscano.  Mikaela Lisoski added 11 kills while Marchelle Bostic collected 53 assists on 58 WPC kills.  Brandy Velasquez led all players with 19 digs on the night.

The Geoducks will look to make it two in a row on Saturday night when they travel to 20th-ranked Concordia.  First serve with the Cavaliers is set for 7 p.m. in Portland, Ore.

Box Score