OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Zofia Formella (So., MB) registered 10 kills and earned a .348 hitting percentage, but The Evergreen State College fell to #17-ranked Lewis-Clark State College 3-0 in the Geoducks' home opener at the Costantino Recreation Center on Friday, Sept. 19. Lewis-Clark State was led by Taylor Boyce with 16 kills, while Juliauna Forgach Aguilar added 11 kills.

LC State won 25-17, 25-13, 25-18. The Warriors, who are ranked #17 in this week's NAIA Women's Volleyball Poll, improved to 8-0 overall, 5-0 in the Cascade Collegiate Conference. Evergreen slipped to 0-9 on the season, 0-5 in the CCC. Eight of the Geoduck's nine matches have been played against teams ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA Poll at the time of the match.

Formella recorded her 10 kills with just two attacking errors on 23 total attacks. Sophia Scroggins (Jr., OPP/MB) tacked on six kills. Amaialyne Cepeda (Sr., DS/L) made 12 digs for Evergreen, while Scroggins and Jayden Vaimaona (Jr., S) each contributed five digs. Vaimaona led Evergreen with 11 assists. Sue Losey (Fr., S/RS) finished with 10 assists.

Bright Brubaker (So., OPP) and Mikayla Kelly (Grad., MB) both supplied the Geoducks with five block assists. Formella was credited with three block assists. Evergreen earned 8.0 team total block with 16 block assists, while LC State completed the match with 1.0 team total blocks on two block assists.

Boyce and Forgach Aguilar led the LC State attack, but Alba Carpena also helped the Warriors with nine kills and no attacking errors while claiming a .643 hitting percentage. The Warriors registered 48 kills during the match. Teagan Scott amassed 32 assists. Ella Stosich topped Lewis-Clark State with 12 digs.

The Warriors held leads of 7-4 and 10-6 early in the first set. A bit later, LC State was in front 14-10, but the Geoducks went on a 5-0 run to grab a 15-14 lead following a combination block by Maya Ware (Fr., MB/OPP) and Ashley Walker Campbell (Sr., OPP). The score was 16-16 after 32 rallies before the Warriors scored six consecutive points, including four on kills by Boyce, for a 22-16 edge. LC State won the set 25-17.

In the second set, Evergreen scored first, but Lewis-Clark State answered with a 7-0 run. Formella stopped the streak with a kill for the Geoducks to cut the margin to 7-2. LC State followed with a 5-2 run, including two kills from Abby Beaton, for a 12-4 advantage. Evergreen scored next on a kill by Formella, but the Warriors built a 22-9 lead on their way to taking the set.

The teams battled for most of the third set. LC State owned slim leads a 4-2 and 9-6, but the Geoducks tied the score with a 3-0 run. The Warriors responded with three straight points of their own for a 12-9 margin. Later, Evergreen pulled within a single point at 14-13 and 16-15 following combo block by Brubaker and Formella. The Geoducks also moved as close as 17-16 on a kill by Walker Campbell. Lewis-Clark State tallied the next six points on its way to securing the match with a 25-18 win.

Evergreen will remain at home for a match on Saturday, Sept. 20 against Walla Walla University. Match time at the Costantino Recreation Center is set for 8:30 p.m. PDT.