Devils clinch West Region volleyball championship

OLYMPIA, Wash. — In a gritty, momentum-swinging road battle on Friday night, the Lower Columbia College volleyball team went the distance against South Puget Sound Community College, pulling out a dramatic 3-2 victory (25-14, 24-26, 22-25, 25-8, 15-9) at the SPSCC Gymnasium. With the win, the Red Devils (16-5, 10-1 NWAC) officially clinched the NWAC West Region championship crown. The victory not only capped a regular-season sweep over the Clippers (9-16, 3-8 NWAC), but also solidified Lower Columbia's status as the West Region's No. 1 seed heading into postseason play.

Setting the stage: LCC strikes first

Lower Columbia opened the match firing on all cylinders, hitting an explosive .458 in the opening frame. Setting the tone early from the service line, Karissa Otterstetter engineered a quick 4-0 run. Ashlin Lockman and Kendall Humphrey repeatedly found seams in the SPSCC defense, while setter Kendal Dean mixed the offense effectively to help LCC sprint ahead and cruise to a 25-14 opening set win.

Clippers fight back in extended sets

South Puget Sound refused to go quietly on their home court. The Clippers leveled the match in a back-and-forth second set that featured seven ties and two lead changes. With LCC holding set point at 24-22 after an SPSCC attack error, the Clippers mounted a four-point comeback behind the arms of Victoria Valenti and Mary Bobryk, edging out the Red Devils 26-24.

Carrying that momentum into set three, SPSCC surged ahead early. Despite late runs from LCC paced by kills from Chesney Schultz and Humphrey, as well as crucial blocks from Lauretta Vasi-Tauki'uvea, the Clippers closed out the frame 25-22 to put the Red Devils on the ropes with a 2-1 match lead.

Dominant response and decisive fifth

Facing adversity, the Red Devils delivered an emphatic response in set four. LCC's block and defense clamped down, suffocating the Clippers' attack and holding SPSCC to a -.167 hitting percentage. Sparked by Anika Plowman off the bench and aggressive serving runs by Humphrey and Kamryn Sande, who tallied back-to-back service aces late, Lower Columbia stormed to an overwhelming 25-8 win to force a winner-take-all fifth set.

In the deciding fifth frame, the Red Devils maintained control from the start. Tied 2-2, Schultz notched a kill and a tandem block with Plowman, while Humphrey delivered timely kills to extend the lead. With LCC up 10-8, Schultz hammered down a kill to regain serve, and Otterstetter stepped to the line to deliver a service ace before back-to-back SPSCC hitting miscues sealed the 15-9 win, igniting the championship celebration.

By the numbers

Lower Columbia out-hit South Puget Sound .255 to .060 on the night, compiling 53 kills, 11 service aces, and eight total blocks.

For SPSCC, Victoria Valenti led the offense with 13 kills and 16 digs, while Mary Bobryk added 11 kills hitting .429. Jessie McCoy tallied 36 assists and 13 digs.

The final regular-season match for the Red Devils will be Wednesday, November 4 at 6:30 p.m. at Myklebust Gym. This will also be sophomore night and the program will celebrate four sophomores before the start of the match.

NWAC postseason outlook

By locking up the West Region championship, Lower Columbia has earned the right to host the NWAC Volleyball Regionals on November 14–15. The regional round features a four-team, double-elimination bracket hosted by each region's No. 1 seed, with the top two teams from each region advancing to the NWAC Elite 8 Championship Tournament, scheduled for November 20–22 on Holden Court at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Washington.

Game one of the West regional will be at Myklebust Gym in Longview, Washington, at 10 a.m. on Saturday, November 14 between the Lower Columbia Red Devils and either the Lane Titans or the Mt. Hood Saints. Tickets for the regional round can be purchased ahead of time at https://nwacsports.com/Championship_Central_Volleyball#tickets or at the gate (debit/credit only, no cash).