LBCC Volleyball – Beaks Defeat Yakima Valley, Advance to Elite Eight

Pack your bags and learn how to pump your own gas, Roadrunners. The LBCC volleyball team is headed to the Elite Eight next weekend in Lakewood, Washington after going 2-0 in the regional round of the playoffs.

The Beaks’ latest victory came on Sunday, November 12 against Yakima Valley in a match to determine the south bracket’s top seed heading into the quarterfinals. 

Linn-Benton won the first two sets, but the Yakima Yaks kept things close, with the Beaks only winning by two points each time with scores of 27-25 and 25-23. In a pivotal third set, the Yaks held on to win, emerging with a 26-24 victory in another nail-biter. 

Still up 2-1, the Beaks looked to put Yakima away in the fourth set, but the Yaks took advantage of 12 attack errors by Linn-Benton to win the set with a score of 25-15, tying the match at two-all. 

In the fifth and final set, the Roadrunners defeated the Yaks 15-10, winning the match and securing the south bracket’s top seed in the upcoming Elite Eight. 

Against Yakima Valley, freshman Maddy Hellem and sophomore Brooke Rogers led the team with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Freshmen Kinsey Brelage and Meah Carley combined for 44 digs. 

Linn-Benton’s win means their next match will be at 5 p.m. at Pierce College in Lakewood, Washington, where the Beaks will take on the second seed from the west bracket, which will either be Skagit Valley or Wenatchee Valley. 

Yakima Valley still has a path to the playoffs if they can defeat Edmonds later today. 

Still the top-ranked team in the NWAC, the Roadrunners now sit at 33-0 on the season.