LONGVIEW, WA — The Lower Columbia College volleyball team closed out its regular-season home slate in style on Wednesday night, overpowering the Green River Gators in a 3-0 sweep (25-13, 25-12, 25-21) at Myklebust Gymnasium to officially capture the NWAC West Region championship. The victory elevates the Red Devils to 17-5 overall and a dominant 11-1 in West Region play, locking down the region's No. 1 overall seed. Green River moved to 14-13 overall and 6-6 in league play, clinching the fourth and final playoff spot out of the West.
Dominance from the service line and net
Lower Columbia set the tone from the opening serve, using pinpoint deliveries to keep the Gators out of system all evening. The Red Devils piled up 12 service aces, anchored by Chesney Schultz with four and setter Karissa Otterstetter with three. Kendall Humphrey and Kamryn Sande added two aces each.
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On the attack, LCC hit a crisp .315 as a team, putting down 38 kills with just 10 errors on 89 attempts. Otterstetter orchestrated the offense seamlessly, dishing out 27 assists while adding four kills on a .400 clip.
Humphrey and Lauretta Vasi-Tauki'uvea led the scoring punch with nine kills apiece. Vasi-Tauki'uvea was virtually unstoppable, attacking at a .333 percentage while dominating the net with three total blocks (one solo, two assists). Ashlin Lockman provided six kills and two block assists, while Schultz and Anika Plowman chipped in five kills each.
Plowman also paced the Red Devils' back line with eight digs, followed by Sande with seven and Humphrey with six.
Green River was limited to a .067 team hitting percentage against the Red Devils' block and back-row coverage. Macy Bonavente led the Gators with nine kills and two blocks, Aiyana Brown tallied eight kills, and Tori Sartain posted 19 assists.
NWAC West Regional playoff picture
As West Region champions, Lower Columbia earns the honor of hosting the NWAC West Regional Playoffs on Saturday and Sunday, November 14–15, at Myklebust Gymnasium.
The NWAC regional round features a four-team, double-elimination tournament hosted by each of the four regional champions (Lower Columbia in the West, Linn-Benton in the South, alongside the North and East winners). The top two finishers from each host site earn berths to the NWAC Elite 8 Championship Tournament, slated for November 20–22 at the Columbia Basin College Student Recreation Center in Pasco, Washington.
West Region final playoff standings
- Lower Columbia Red Devils (11-1 Conf., 17-5 Overall) – West Region champions (host)
- Highline Thunderbirds (10-2 Conf., 23-3 Overall) – Clinched playoff berth
- Centralia Trailblazers (8-4 Conf., 17-12 Overall) – Clinched playoff berth
- Green River Gators (6-6 Conf., 14-13 Overall) – Clinched playoff berth
Opening match: Saturday, November 14 at 10 a.m.
Match 1: West No. 1 Lower Columbia vs. South No. 4 (S4). Under the NWAC regional crossover bracket, host West No. 1 Lower Columbia opens the tournament at 10 a.m. on Saturday, November 14, against the No. 4 seed from the South Region (S4).
- South Region No. 4 contenders: Perennial power Linn-Benton (15-0) has clinched the South crown, with Clackamas (12-3) holding the No. 2 spot. The battle for the third and fourth seeds is deadlocked between Lane (10-5) and Mt. Hood (10-5), while Southwestern Oregon (8-7) remains in striking distance. Whichever team finishes in the No. 4 position between Lane, Mt. Hood, or SW Oregon will make the trip to Longview to face the Red Devils in Saturday morning's tournament opener.
The other matchup in the West Regional four-team pod will pit the North Region No. 3 seed (N3) — Skagit Valley Cardinals — against the East Region No. 2 seed (E2), where Columbia Basin (11-2) currently holds second behind Yakima Valley (13-0) and one game ahead of third-place Walla Walla (10-3). Final contests for these teams are Friday, Nov. 6 and then the bracket will be set.
Tournament passes and single-day tickets will be available online through the NWAC website, as well as at the Myklebust Gymnasium gate. This is an NWAC event and will be run as a cashless gate. You must purchase tickets online ahead of time or by scanning a QR code at the gate to pay online. LCC booster passes are not valid for this event.
