Roadrunners Advance to NWAC Volleyball Championship Match

LAKEWOOD, Washington — The Linn-Benton Roadrunners took down the Bellevue Bulldogs 3-1 in their Final Four match at the NWAC Volleyball Championship on Saturday, Nov. 19. 

Improving to 33-1 on the season, the Roadrunners advance to the Championship Match in the tournament where they will face Columbia Basin on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 3 p.m.

THE MATCH 

The Roadrunners won a competitive first set by a score of 25-18; it was tied at 15-15 before the Beaks began to pull away. This included five kills from Eva Buford and three kills from Taya Manibusan.

The second set introduced some competitiveness into the match, which the Bulldogs took 25-22. Despite the team’s 15 kills, the Roadrunners committed 12 errors. While Buford recorded five kills, the Bulldogs were able to limit themselves to two errors. The Roadrunners would seek to regain their momentum in the third set.

This proved to be true, as the Roadrunners prevailed 25-16, taking their performance to another level by reducing their errors from 12 to four and delivering another 10 kills.

The fourth set proved much of the same as the Roadrunners closed out the match with a score of 25-15, propelled by 12 kills and only two errors. Manibusan added three service aces in the final four points to close out the match while Buford added four kills in the deciding set.

BOX SCORE

The Roadrunners improved on their previous performance in the tournament with 48 kills, including a team-leading 15 from Buford with seven service aces from Manibusan. Graci Zanona added a team-leading 27 digs to the team effort.

UP NEXT

The Roadrunners advance to NWAC Volleyball Championship Game against Columbia Basin on Sunday, November 20 at 3 p.m. Columbia Basic advanced with a 3-2 win over North Idaho.

Linn-Benton moves onto the finals looking for back-to-back titles after winning for the first time in program history in 2021.