Roadrunners Advance to Elite Eight with Win Over Skagit Valley

Sports Roundup for the Week of November 7th-14th

ALBANY — Shelbey Nichol had 11 kills to lead Linn-Benton past Skagit Valley, 3-0 in Round Two of the NWAC Volleyball Championship South Regional on Sunday, Nov. 14. 

The Roadrunners (28-2) advance to the Elite Eight of the NWAC Volleyball Championship, hosted by Pierce College on November 19-21.

Set scores for the game were 25-12, 25-21, and 25-23.

Shalyn Gray added eight kills and 13 digs for the Roadrunners. Savannah Hutchins (18) and Sydnie Johnson (17) combined for 25 assists. Hutchins also added 10 digs. Defensively, libero Jade Hayes led the Roadrunners with 17 digs and Alicia Vandervoort-Walters had five blocks.

The Roadrunners advance to the Elite Eight as the number one seed from the South Region and will be matched up against Bellevue, the number two seed from the North Region. 

LB has played Bellevue once this season, with the game being The Roadrunners’ season opener. The Beaks lost to the Bulldogs 2-3. It was one of two losses of the season for Linn-Benton. 

LBCC is looking for their first NWAC championship. They placed second in 2000 and 2016, and finished third in 2015. Fourth-place finishes have happened in 2011, 2013, and 2017. The team has made the tournament every year since 2000, except for 2001 and 2003. 

Roadrunners Battle Back to Top Tacoma 3-2

ALBANY — Linn-Benton battled back from a 0-2 set deficit to defeat Tacoma 3-2 in Round One of the NWAC Volleyball Championship South Regional in Albany on Saturday, Nov. 13. 

Set scores were 21-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-23 and 15-6.

Shalyn Gray led Linn-Benton with 12 kills and Shelbey Nichol and Eva Buford added 11 kills apiece. Sydnie Johnson had 27 assists for the match. Jade Hayes recorded 26 digs for the match and Taya Manibusan added 12 digs.