OLYMPIA, Wash. – After the Evergreen Geoducks took the first set, the visiting Northwest Christian Beacons left no doubt the rest of the way, cruising to a four-set victory in a Cascade Conference volleyball match on Saturday evening at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.

In the opening set, the Geoducks (2-9, 1-5 CCC) came out ready to compete as they led the Beacons (12-5, 5-3 CCC) for much of the set.  NCU tied things up at 17-17 and again at 20-20 and 22-22 but the Geoducks used a kill by Molly King (Centralia, Wash./Centralia HS/Tacoma CC) to clinch the set one win by a final of 25-23.

Set two started out as a close one as well but Northwest Christian went on a 6-0 run to take a 13-9 lead and a 7-1 run put the Beacons up by even more as NCU hit .487 with 22 kills and just three errors on 39 attacks to collect the 25-15 set two win.

Coming out of the break, the Beacons again put the petal to the metal as the Geoducks quickly found themselves down by double-digits.  All hope was not lost for Evergreen and the green and white put together a seven-point run towards the end of the frame but it wasn’t enough as NCU earned the 25-16 set three victory to pull ahead.

The Geoducks looked to use some of that late momentum in the fourth set and it worked early but a handful of runs by the Beacons put the set out of reach and Northwest Christian used the 25-15 set four win to clinch the match, three sets to one.

Evergreen was led by 12 kills form Victoria Love (Seaside, Calif./Seaside HS/Hartnell College), who had a collegiate-best 37 kills on Friday night to finish with 49 for the weekend.  Cassidy Watkins (Tucson, Ariz./Mountain View HS/Trevecca Nazarene Univ.) finished with 10 kills while Kelsey Delagrange (Longview, Wash./Kelso HS/Mt Hood CC) finished with 34 assists on the night.  Liza Domingo (Ka’a’awa, Hawai’i/Kahuku HS/Lower Columbia College) dug out a match-best 23 digs for the Geoducks.

Northwest Christian was led by 15 kills from Chandler Gabrio and 13 from Janel Fetters.  Corri Wallace finished with 46 assists on 59 NCU kills while Dana McGowan led the back row with 21 digs.  The Beacons finished with nine blocks, including four each from Fetters, Chelsea McGowan and Gabrio.

Evergreen hits the road next weekend, traveling to Southern Oregon on Friday night and Oregon Tech on Saturday.

Box Score

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Evergreen junior Victoria Love (Seaside, Calif./Seaside HS/Hartnell College) destroyed the school record for kills in a match but it wasn’t enough to get the Geoducks the win as the visiting Corban Warriors earned the five-set victory in a Cascade Conference volleyball match on Friday night at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.

The Geoducks (2-8, 1-4 CCC) came out ready to play in the first set as they took the initial lead and controlled most of the frame.  The Warriors (3-13, 1-6 CCC) were ready to battle as well, holding the set tight early.  Despite seven tie scores and two lead changes, the Geoducks used a 6-1 run to pull ahead and held on for the 25-20 set one win.

The second set belonged to Corban from the beginning as the Warriors pushed the lead to nine points and 17-8.  Evergreen battled back, getting within three points but the gap was too much to overcome, allowing Corban to earn a 25-20 set two win and tie the match and one set apiece.

Coming out of the break, the third set proved to be the most competitive as each team looked for the advantage.  With the scored tied at 14-14, the Warriors used a 5-2 run to build the lead and Corban kept the lead down the stretch to take the match advantage with a 25-21 set three win.

With their backs against the wall, the Geoducks came out ready to play in the fourth frame.  A 6-0 run put Evergreen up by seven at 11-4 and the lead proved to be enough as the Geoducks had their best set hitting wise, connecting for 14 kills with four errors on 36 attacks for .278, to collect the 25-17 set four win.

Just one set was left to decide it all and Corban came sprinting out of the gate, building a 4-10 lead.  Evergreen dug deep and got back within two at 11-9 but the home team could never get over the hump as Corban earned their first conference win of the year with a 15-12 set five win and the five-set match win.

Evergreen was led by a school-record 37 kills from Love, who also set a school record for total attacks with 81.  Molly King (Centralia, Wash./Centralia HS/Tacoma CC) added 11 kills in the loss.  Kelsey Delagrange (Longview, Wash./Kelso HS/Mt. Hood CC) put up 34 assists while Liza Domingo (Ka’a’awa, Hawai’i/Kahuku HS/Lower Columbia College) led all players with 29 digs.

Corban was led by 16 kills from Claire Bailey.  Miah Smith finished with 12 kills while Olivia Shropshire put down 11 kills in the win.  Haley Meili finished with 22 assists for the Warriors while Katherine Salness defended the back line with 19 digs on the night.

Both teams will be back in action on Saturday night as Corban visits Northwest and Evergreen hosts Northwest Christian, beginning at 7 p.m.

Box Score

LACEY, Wash. – Junior Victoria Love (Seaside, Calif./Seaside HS/Hartnell College) threw down 20 kills but it wasn’t enough as the Evergreen Geoducks fell to the Saint Martin’s Saints in four sets in a non-conference volleyball match on Tuesday evening at Marcus Pavilion in Lacey, Wash.

Meeting for the first time since 2010, the two Thurston County rivals were well-matched early.  An 8-1 SMU run gave the Saints an advantage that the Geoducks just couldn’t overcome as SMU took the first frame,  25-17.

The second set belonged to the Geoducks but not without a fight from the host Saints.  SMU pulled within two points at 22-20 but the Geoducks held on to collect the 25-22 set two win to tie the match at one set each.

Evergreen struggled in the third set as the Saints pulled out to an early lead and the Geoducks couldn’t complete the comeback.  The green and white got within three points late but the Saints held on for the 25-19 set three win.

It looked like the Geoducks would force a fifth set early as the Geoducks led early.  With the score at 17-16 in favor of the Geoducks, Saint Martin’s went on a 9-1 run to clinch the match with a 25-18 set four win.

The Geoducks were led by the 20 kills from Love, who hit .283 on the night.  Molly King (Centralia, Wash./Centralia HS/Tacoma CC) added 11 kills.  Kelsey Delagrange (Longview, Wash./Kelso HS/Mt. Hood CC) put up 40 assists.  The Geoducks hit .176 on the night, connecting for 46 kills and 21 errors on 142 total attacks.

Saint Martin’s was led by 18 kills from Kristyn Ross.  Carrie Starbuck and Kyra Davidson each had 10 kills on the night.  Cymbree Decosta put up 39 assists while Jessica Riddle added 23 digs in the win.  SMU hit .266 on the night with 52 kills and 16 errors on 139 attacks.

The Geoducks return to the court on Friday night when they play host to Corban in a Cascade Conference match.  First serve with the Warriors is set for 7 p.m. at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.

Box Score