PORTLAND, Ore. – Lewis-Clark State Volleyball made it four victories in a row with a 3-1 (25-13, 25-27, 25-19, 25-15) win over Multnomah (Ore.) on Saturday. The match capped a five-match road swing for the Warriors.
Juliauna Forgach Aguilar had another standout offensive performance with 24 kills, tied for fourth-most by a Warrior in a four-set match, while Esther Kailiponi filled up the stat sheet with 21 assists, 12 digs and four service aces.
The victory moves LC State to 8-3 on the season and 5-1 in Cascade Conference play. Multnomah falls to 1-8 overall and 1-4 in CCC action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Kills by Forgach Aguilar, Missy Mortensen and Taylor Boyce put the Warriors in front 4-3 before an ace by Makenzie Stout and kills by Kailiponi and Anna Merrill made it 7-4. Forgach Aguilar tallied three straight kills to hold off a Multnomah surge to keep LC in the lead 12-8. The Warriors struck for three straight points, fueled by kills by Mortensen and Karissa Lindner, to jump ahead 20-12.
Merrill and Lindner teamed up at the net to deny the Lions out of a timeout and keep the momentum with LC State, and swings by Merrill and Boyce ended the first set 25-13.
Hallie Seaman opened the second set with a kill on the first ball, and back-to-back swings by Forgach Aguilar made it a quick 4-1 lead. Multnomah errors and two kills by Boyce resulted in a four-point run to extend the advantage to 9-3, but a four-point swing for the Lions cut the margin to 9-7. Multnomah pulled within one, 10-9, before costly Warrior miscues evened the set 11-11. Back-to-back kills by Boyce and Lindner were followed by an ace by Gianna Anderson to put LC State back in front 14-11.
The Lions went on a 5-1 run to storm ahead 16-15, but a kill by Seaman knotted things up 16-16. Kills by Forgach Aguilar and Mortensen helped the Warriors keep pace with Nomah before two straight kills by Boyce and Abbey Neff and an ace by Neff gave LC a 22-19 edge. Multnomah answered with three points of their own to tie the score once again before pushing the score to set point, 24-23, in favor of the Lions. A pair of Lion errors put the Warriors in front 25-24 as a back-and-forth ran the second set into extra points. LC State errors ended the frame with Nomah in front 27-25.
Forgach Aguilar and Mortensen combined to aid a run of four points to start the third set and give LC an early lead. The Lions threatened and pulled within one, 6-5, but a kill by Boyce and blocks by Merrill, Lindner and Boyce pushed the Warriors ahead 9-5. Multnomah continued to chip away at the LC lead and cut the margin to 12-11 but swings by Forgach Aguilar and Mortensen helped maintain the slim advantage.
The Lions knotted the score 15-15 as the teams battled late into the set. Forgach Aguilar, Boyce and Merrill notched three straight kills to cap a 5-1 run for a 20-16 lead. A swing by Merrill and a pair of Lion errors had the advantage to 23-19 and a kill by Boyce gave LC set point. Neff gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead in the match with an ace to end the third set 25-19.
Forgach Aguilar put LC State ahead 4-3 with three kills to start the fourth frame before Boyce added one for a 5-3 advantage. Four kills by Forgach Aguilar, a block by Mortensen and Merrill and three aces by Kailiponi fueled a seven-point run to push the advantage to 16-8. Boyce dropped a kill in the back corner before Natany Felix Guimaraes dealt an ace for a 19-10 lead.
Boyce and Forgach Aguilar each tallied a kill to push the cushion to 22-13, and a swing by Forgach Aguilar made it match point at 24-15. Kailiponi ended the weekend with a service ace at 25-15.
STAT RECAP
Forgach Aguilar led the match with 24 kills on a .378 attack percentage and Boyce added 16 at a clip of .316. The Warriors hit .242 as a team. Neff led the setters with 28 assists to go with nine digs, and Kailiponi put together a double-double with 21 assists, 12 digs and four aces to tie her career-best.
Felix Guimaraes led the match with 24 digs and Stout added 13. Merrill and Lindner each assisted on three blocks.
The Warriors won the digs battle against Multnomah 88-59 and tallied more kills at a difference of 63-39. LC State held the Lions to a .145 attack percentage.
UP NEXT
LC State returns home next weekend to host Oregon Tech and No. 5 Southern Oregon in the P1FCU Activity Center.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
