With the odds stacked against them, the Linn-Benton volleyball team found a way.
On Friday, the Roadrunners took on Bellevue in the quarterfinals of the NWAC Volleyball Championship at Pierce College in Lakewood, WA. Linn-Benton came out on top, beating Bellevue in four sets, 20-25, 27-24, 25-13, and 25-18.
Despite entering the match with a conference-best 32-0 overall record and having gone the last 27 games without dropping a set, the Roadrunners were in trouble early. Linn-Benton jumped out to a 10-6 lead in the first set; however, Bellevue would respond with an 11-point run to take a 17-10 lead. The Roadrunners battled back and even saved four set points, but the deficit would be too much to overcome, giving Bellvue the first set of the match.
Down a set, Linn-Benton was in unfamiliar territory, having only dropped three sets during the entire season. Losing the first set snapped the team’s streak of 82 consecutive sets won and put a scrappy Bellevue squad in prime position to cause an upset.
The Roadrunners seemed to find their footing in the second set, taking a 16-11 lead; however, the Bulldogs would go on a run, tying the game up at 24-24 while saving three set points. In their most stressful moment of the season so far, Linn-Benton capitalized. A kill by Grace Luttrell and a couple of Bellevue errors earned Linn-Benton the second set of the game, knotting things up at one-a-piece.
The second set seemed to swing the momentum of the match as the Roadrunners got back to their dominant style of play. The team raced out to a 10-2 lead in the third set and never let Bellevue get within 10 points of them. Despite giving up 49 points combined in the first two sets, the Roadrunners locked in defensively, only allowing 13 points in set three.
Linn-Benton looked to close things out in set four; however, Bellevue would not go down without a fight. The Bulldogs took the advantage through the first 20 points, owning an 11-9 lead. Even with the lead and a set already in the bag, Bellevue had not done enough to discourage the Roadrunners. Linn-Benton would then win 10 of the following 12 points to put them ahead by a score of 19-13.
The Bulldogs would climb back to within three points, forcing Linn-Benton to take a timeout with the score at 21-18. However, the Roadrunners came out of the timeout reinvigorated and took points from three Bellevue errors and a kill by Rowan Reilly to win both set and match.
Brooklyn Willard, Luttrell, and Reilly each led the team with 11 kills, while setters Avery Hughes and Meah Carley recorded 25 and 21 assists, respectively. Kinsey Brelage and Hughes served 2 aces each, and Annabelle Peterson led the team with 4 blocks.
The Roadrunners now stand just two wins away from clinching a fourth straight NWAC volleyball title. But to reach the final, Linn-Benton must first take on Yakima Valley in their semi-final matchup.
The semi-final match between Linn-Benton and Yakima Valley will occur at Pierce College in Lakewood, WA, on Saturday at 2 p.m. The semi-final winner will go on to play either Skagit Valley or Columbia Basin for a shot at the NWAC title.