The Evergreen State College volleyball team came up short in its season-opening matchups at the Friends Invitational in Wichita, Kansas, falling 3-0 to Peru State and 3-1 to Friends on Friday.
The Geoducks (0-2) kept it close with Peru State early in the opener, with the Bobcats prevailing 25-22 in each of the first two sets before pulling away 25-17 to secure the sweep. In the second contest, Evergreen took a 1-0 lead with a 25-22 first-set victory, but Friends took the next three sets 25-11, 25-21 and 25-23.
Evergreen were within striking distance throughout the first set against Peru State but couldn’t execute a long enough run to pull in front. The Geoducks took their first lead 4-2 early in the second set, but Peru State stormed ahead 16-10 with a 14-6 run. Down 20-13, Evergreen cut the margin to 23-22 before the Bobcats clinched the set with the final two points.
The third set was tight early, with Peru State leading 10-9. But the Bobcats extended their lead with an 8-2 run and never let up to win 25-17.
Senior outside hitter Sophia Scroggins led the Geoducks with 10 kills and eight digs against Peru State, while junior Zosia Formella and freshman Annalise Orlowski added 10 kills apiece. Senior Jayden Vaimaona and junior Riley Mangan each posted nine assists, and sophomore Jaci Yamada supplied seven digs.
The Geoducks bounced back nicely in the opening set against Friends, clawing back from early deficits and ties via runs of 7-3 and 6-2. Friends dominated the second set, riding an early 11-2 advantage. Orlowski shined with consecutive service aces in the third set to give Evergreen a 16-12 lead over Friends, but the Falcons took advantage of attacking errors by the Geoducks and jumped in front.
The fourth set was the closest of the day with 10 ties and six lead changes. Evergreen led early 6-3 and went blow for blow with the Falcons as the score was tied 21-21 late. Friends landed their strikes late to pull away 25-23.
Scroggins and Formella each led the Geoducks with nine kills, while Orlowski added seven kills. Three Geoducks recorded double-digit digs, led by Yamada with 17, Formella with 12 and Scroggins with 11. Vaimaona dished 15 assists, and Mangan added a dozen. Mikayla Kelly provided three solo blocks and two assisted blocks as part of Evergreen’s nine total blocks against Friends.
Evergreen will conclude the Friends Invitational on Saturday against Oklahoma Panhandle State University at 8 a.m. PT and MidAmerica Nazarene University at noon PT.
