LEWISTON, Idaho — The Wolves put on a hitting clinic in an upset victory over No. 11 Lewis-Clark State in straight sets in a Cascade Collegiate Conference volleyball contest on Tuesday.

Walla Walla (11-7, 9-6) had a team hitting percentage of .340 in the 26-24, 25-12, 25-21 victory over the Warriors (14-4, 11-4). It is the best hitting percentage this season for WWU and the best performance since Oct. 11, 2024 against Northwest (Wash.) when the Wolves hit for a .383 clip. 

"Phenomenal work by the Wolves today," Walla Walla coach Kiana Krumm said. "Every single player was locked in on their role and they played together so well."

WWU tied a program record with 50 kills and 47 assists in a three-set match. Both records were set in the same victory over the Eagles in October of last season. The Wolves also set program records in overall wins (11) and CCC victories (9).

It was the first time in program history that Walla Walla was able to go into Lewiston and the second all-time that the Wolves defeated the Warriors overall. It is the second time this season that WWU has upset a No. 11 seed. The Pack earned their first win against a ranked opponent against then-No. 11 Montana Western back in August. On the season, Walla Walla has taken down five ranked opponents and have now won four straight matches.

Paula Flores had one of the best hitting performances you will ever see with 14 kills on 18 total attacks with a hitting percentage of .722. The sophomore added a match-high 10 digs.

Yaimaris Garcia set a program record (since WWU joined the NAIA in 2009) with 42 assists, the most assists in a three-set match for the Wolves. Garcia added three more aces to push her season total to 58 and added six digs.

Sahara Browning led the Wolves with 18 kills, and improved her season kills/set number to 4.52, and added eight digs. Adree Selley set a personal-record with three aces and Catalina Gutierrez Sebastia had a personal-best five kills. As a team, Walla Walla had 10 aces, the fourth time this season that the Wolves have reached double-digit aces in a match.

"Paula Flores was unstoppable … Sahara Browning added 18 kills and three aces and defensive specialist Adree Selley scored three key aces for us. Both middles, Catalina and Myckayla Shaver had high hitting percentages and unmatched energy," Krumm said. "I loved watching them go out and leave everything on the court."

Lewis-Clark State was led by Taylor Boyce and Juliauna Forgach Aguilar who had eight kills each and Teagan Scott had 24 assists. and Karissa Lindner had six block assists with seven kills and a hit percentage of .636.

The opening set was a back-and-forth battle, reminiscent of the first meeting between the two teams in College Place that LC State won in four. Neither team was able to lead by more than two points until Mikale Roy and Lindner blocked an attack by Browning and the Warriors led 14-11. LCSC extended the lead to 17-12 and then to 20-16 before the visitors got into a rhythm.

Flores put away a kill and followed it up with an ace. After a Lindner kill it was Natalia Jimenez who put one away for the Wolves. WWU took advantage of a Forgach Aguilar error and Selley served an ace of her own to tie the set at 21-21. Forgach Aguilar spiked one home to give the Warriors the advantage again. Browning and Shaver responded with back-to-back points and the Wolves led for the first time since it was 4-3.

The home team called timeout and responded with two straight points to earn a set point. Browning denied the set point with a kill. Garcia and Shaver teamed up for a block to give WWU a set point and Shaver put one away and the visitors took the first set 26-24.

The momentum from the first set victory was noticeable right away in set number two. The Warriors won the first point, but it was the Wolves who rolled from there. Gutierrez Sebastia earned one of her five kills before Garcia served an ace and WWU took a 2-1 lead, a lead it would not relinquish. Walla Walla won six of the next seven points and extended the gap. LC State recovered with a streak of 5-of-6 of its own to cut the lead to two, but the Wolves turned on the gas from there.

Garcia served perfect assists to Shaver, Jimenez and Flores to force LC to burn its second timeout of the set. Out of the timeout, Garcia put one away herself and then Browning recorded three straight aces and the visitors led 19-8. Walla Walla went on to roll to a second set victory.

Lewis-Clark State jumped out early in the third set to try and stay in the match with a quick 4-1 lead. Browning led a 5-1 run by WWU with four kills and the Wolves took an early lead. The two teams traded points until Flores sparked a four-point run for the visitors and made it 12-9 in favor of The Pack. The Warriors continued to battle and stay within reach, but the lead did not change the rest of the way.

A three-point streak by the Warriors cut the gap to just one before Browning slammed one home and WWU led 22-20 late. Selley had her third ace and an attack error by LC set up match point. The home squad avoided one chance, but it was Browning on an assist by Garcia that called game for Walla Walla.

UP NEXT

The Wolves travel to Portland, Ore. to play Warner Pacific at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

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