Roadrunners Head Back to NWAC Title Match

COURTESY: NWAC

LAKEWOOD, Wash. – The Linn-Benton Roadrunners punched their ticket to the finals of the NWAC Volleyball Championship for the second year in a row, defeating Bellevue in four sets (25-18, 22-25, 25-16, 25-15) on Saturday night at Pierce College.

In set one, Bellevue played a solid set and were first to reach 15 points leading 15-12. After the media timeout, the Roadrunners came roaring back and scored 13 of the final 16 points to take the set 25-18.

The second set was the opposite of the first as Linn-Benton pulled out ahead and looked on their way to taking a 2-0 lead in the match. Trailing 19-14, the Bulldogs scored 11 of the final 14 points to snag set two 25-22, the first set dropped by the Roadrunners since Oct. 19.

Despite the win to take momentum for the Bulldogs, the Roadrunners proved how they entered with a 32-1 record by winning the final two sets convincingly by scores of 25-16 and 25-15.

The Roadrunners hit .164 for the match overall but got stronger as the match went on. Eva Buford led the team with 15 kills, two block assists and a .321 hitting percentage. Taya Manibusan added 11 kills, nine digs and was very effective servicing with seven aces. Graci Zanona had 27 digs and two aces. Zaley Bennett had 24 assists, nine digs and four aces.

Marin Mackey led the Bulldogs with 10 kills and 13 digs. Kate Hansen had 17 digs. AJ Gueller had seven kills and four total blocks.

Linn-Benton moves onto the finals of the NWAC Volleyball Championship, looking for back-to-back titles after winning for the first time in program history in 2021. They will play the winner of North Idaho and Columbia Basin on Sunday at 3 p.m. Bellevue will also have one final match, playing in the third-place match at 12 p.m. on Sunday against the loser of the second semifinal matchup.

UPDATE: The Roadrunners will play Columbia Basic, a 3-2 winner over North Idaho, for the Championship.

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