PORTLAND, Ore. – Warrior Volleyball is officially postseason-bound after a victory over Multnomah University on Friday. LC State battled with the Lions through five sets to grind out a 3-2 (15-25, 25-14, 27–25, 23-25, 15-7) win. Natany Felix Guimaraes and Karissa Lindner put up career-high numbers to help guide the Warrior women.
With the victory, LC State is 8-11 in Cascade Conference play and will be one of eight teams in the postseason conference tournament.
Felix Guimaraes anchored the defense with 30 digs, while freshman Lindner tallied 11 kills to match Juliauna Forgach Aguilar for the team-lead.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lindner tallied the first LC State kill of the night to even the set 1-1. The freshman added a second kill to keep things knotted 2-2. Multnomah pulled ahead 8-4 to force a Warrior timeout. Gianna Anderson restarted the LC State offense with a kill and a pair of MU errors had the difference within two, 9-7.
The Lions regained their momentum to surge ahead 14-7 before pushing the margin to 18-10. Merrill added a kill before teaming up with Lindner for a block to make it 19-12 but MU took the set 25-15.
A kill by Missy Mortensen and three Lion errors gave the Warriors a 4-0 advantage in the second frame. Multnomah cut the LC lead to one, 4-3, before errors cost the Lions and put the Warriors up 7-4. Mortensen notched her second kill as part of the four-point run the had the lead at 9-4.
A block by Hallie Seaman and Mortensen was followed by an error by the Lions to force MU into a pause, then a block by Lindner and Anderson gave the Warriors a 10-6 cushion. Lindner added a kill to cap a three-point rally at 15-7. An ace by libero Felix Guimaraes was followed by a kill by Forgach Aguilar and block by Mortensen and Seaman to make it 19-9. Kills by Seaman, Mortensen and Anderson, as well as an ace by Sofie Langer, fueled the 25-14 set win.
Freshmen Makenzie Stout and Lindner gave LC a 2-1 lead with an ace and kill, respectively, in the third set. Forgach Aguilar tallied two kills before a swing by Mortensen made it 5-2. Multnomah pulled ahead 11-7 before the Warriors answered to tie the set. A kill by Anderson sparked a five-point stretch, aided by a kill by Lindner, to make it 12-12. Three straight Lion errors and a kill by Stout had LC in front 16-14.
Forgach Aguilar teamed up with Mortensen on a block and Kierstyn York added a kill to push the lead to 18-16. Mortensen broke an 18-18 tie with a tipped ball over the net and an ace by Esther Kailiponi made it 20-18. The Lions rallied to pull ahead 24-22, but the Warriors fought off two set points with kills by Anderson and Lindner to tie things up 24-24. A block by York and Lindner ended the set 27-25 to give LC State a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Lions jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fourth set. Kills by Forgach Aguilar and Mortensen paired with an ace by Katie Rainville to cut the MU advantage to 7-5. An error by Multnomah and a kill by Lindner tied things up 7-7. Merrill sparked a quick run by LC with a kill and Stout added an ace to put the Warriors ahead 9-8.
Multnomah took control to gain a 17-14 lead before stretching the difference to 21-16. The Lions had the score at 24-20 but the Warriors fought off three set points before MU closed out the set 25-23 to tie the match 2-2.
The Warriors opened the deciding frame with three straight points thanks to a kill by Lindner and ace by Langer. Multnomah answered with four of their own to take the lead, but a swing by Anderson made it 4-4. The kill sparked a run of five that was capped by back-to-back kills by Lindner to give LC an 8-4 advantage. Forgach Aguilar added a pair of kills and a block by Mortensen and Abbey Neff made it 12-6.
Back-to-back kills by Forgach Aguilar and Anderson ended the match with a 15-7 set victory.
Felix Guimaraes led the match with her 30 digs, the most by a Warrior this season. Forgach Aguilar and Lindner each had 11 kills with Lindner doing so on a .333 attack percentage. Kailiponi dealt 20 assists in the contest, and Mortensen, Merrill and Lindner each assisted on three blocks.
UP NEXT
The Warriors close out the regular-season road slate on Saturday at Warner Pacific. First serve is set for 5 p.m.
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