Box Score OLYMPIA, Wash. – With three of the four sets decided by the slimmest of all possible margins, the host Evergreen State College Geoducks slipped past the Multnomah University Lions 3-1 (26-24, 23-25, 25-17, 25-23) in a Cascade Collegiate Conference volleyball match Saturday night here at the Costantino Recreation Center Gym.
Set one featured 12 ties and six lead changes, with neither team holding more than a three-point lead. Evergreen broke a 24-24 tie and secured the set on a pair of Multnomah attack errors.
The second set began the same way, with five early ties before Multnomah snapped a 12-12 tie and went ahead for good on a combination block by
Maile Kam and
Madysen Trout. The Lions extended the lead to six at 20-14 on an Evergreen attack error, but the Geoducks rallied and closed within one at 24-23 on a kill by Chloee Hunt. However, another hitting miscue by the hosts gave the set to the Lions.
Evergreen never trailed in the third set and put it away by hitting .600 (17-2-25). The Geoducks twice led by as much as nine points, including the final score.
The fourth set reverted to tight formation, with 10 ties up until the score reached 20-20. Multnomah forged ahead with a kill by
Miranda Halverson and two winners by
Sydney Amundsen, and the Lions seemed poised to extend the match to a do-or-die fifth set. But the Geoducks stunned the Lions with five straight points on two kills by Natalie Taylor, a block by Taylor and Hunt to tie it, a Multnomah attack error, and a final kill by Hunt.
Patty Batoon led the Lions with 20 kills, hitting .357 (20-5-42), and Amundsen added 10.
Marissa Rhodes passed out 26 assists and
Kayla Keane had 19.
Sabrina DeJesus-Bair collected 15 digs and Halverson 13, while Trout contributed to seven of the Lions' nine blocks.
Taylor had a match-high 23 kills for the Geoducks, hitting .457 (23-2-46), and Bethanie Nelson had 13. Matalasi Laban made 40 assists, while Tori Wegdahl had 19 digs and Taylor 11. Taylor had five block assists out of Evergreen's seven blocks as a team.
--- Next: Multnomah steps out of conference play with a home match against New Hope Christian College Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. … Evergreen State visits Northwest University (Wash.) in Kirkland, Wash., for CCC action Saturday at 5:00 p.m.
