NWAC Sports: LCC Fall Sports Preview
Getting to Know Them Devils – Lower Columbia College women's soccer and volleyball ready for return to action
By Rick McCorkle for Blast Zone Media / blastzonenews@gmail.com
NWAC Sports / Fall Sports Preview
Editor’s Note: After a mostly quiet summer around The Blast Zone the local sports scene is primed for a late season bloom of sorts. Athletes at Lower Columbia College got the jump start on everyone with preseason skirmishes already underway for the Red Devils women’ s soccer and volleyball teams. In just a few short days high school athletes will join the annual return to competition and you can trust BZM to be there all along the way. Please enjoy this free offering and consider become a sustaining paid-subscriber today.
College Volleyball
LCC set to learn on the fly
In his second season with the Red Devils, Troy Shorey guided LCC to a second place finish in the West Region (15-11 overall, 10-2 in the region), but was eliminated in the third round of the North Region postseason tournament.
LCC placed in the top-20 among Northwest Athletic Association teams in nine categories. The Devils were fourth in Ace serves (256), eighth in hitting errors (524), 13th in solo blocks (71), and 14th in digs (1756). They were 16th in kills per set (10.5) and hitting percentage (.148), 17th in kills (1,061), 19th in assists (961), and 20th in block assists (106).
NWAC West-Region first-team pick Karissa Otterstetter is back for her sophomore campaign after finishing ninth in the NWAC in assists (714), and tied for ninth with 52 ace serves. Another returning sophomore, Kendall Humphrey, also earned a first-team nod after hammering 311 kills, good for 14th place. Returning Libero Kamryn Sande, a third-team pick, tied for 18th in the conference with 44 aces, and tallied 370 digs, good for 23rd place. Also returning for her sophomore campaign is outside hitter Chesney Schultz.
Joining the returning foursome are newcomers Kendal Dean, a setter from Toutle Lake, and defensive specialist Paityn Shove, who prepped at Henrietta Lacks Health and Bioscience High School in Vancouver. On the front line are outside hitters Ella Eib of R.A. Long, Kennedy Purvis of Napavine, Anika Plowman from Rainier, Wash., Emma Ahrens from Union High in Vancouver, and Ashlin Lockman from Crescent Valley High in Corvallis, Ore. Middle blockers joining the team are Mackenzie Fitzgerald-Thornton from Marshfield High in Reedsport, Ore., Lauretta Vasi-Tauki'uvea from Ogden Utah, and defensive specialist Noelle Nofo from Curtis High in Tacoma.
Shorey will be assisted this season by Emma Nelson and Y Ta.
College Women’s Soccer
Returning Red Devils ready to use their heads
A season filled with ups and downs proved to be interesting in the first season for LCC women’s soccer coach Steven Evans, but now he’s ready to guide the Red Devils into the postseason and hopefully a shot at an NWAC title.
LCC (6-7-5 overall, 5-5-4 in the West Region) finished fourth in the region and missed the postseason. The Devils were sixth in the NWAC in shots on goal (228), tied for eighth in fewest goals allowed (30), and tied for ninth in assists (19). They were 12th in saves (75), tied for 14th in shutouts (five) and points scored (73), and were 15th in goals scored (27).
The Devils return eight players who will help guide the 10 newcomers to the program. A pair of all-NWAC West Region players return at forward. First-teamer Maylee Reynolds tied for 16th in the NWAC with eight goals, and was fourth in shots on goal with 35, and Addison Hartley was tabbed to the second-team. In the midfield are Raelie Guizzotti and Sam Roundtree, who was sixth in the conference in assists with six. Returning defenders are Payton Bullmore, Zoe Ernst and Annabelle Rogers, and back in goal is Haley Loll, who tied for 18th in goals against with 12, and 24th in saves with 39.
Forwards joining the team are Alyssa Gregory from Ridgefield, and Avah Spinning from Bountiful High in Providence, Utah. Incoming midfielders are Napavine's Hannah Fay, Ashley Hermenegildo from Shelton, Ada Labowitz from Peninsula High in Gig Harbor, and Sydney Butler from Bear River High in Tremonton, Utah. New defenders are Delanie Zueger from R.A. Long, Maya Buck of Kelso, and Marseille Edwards from Ridgefield, who played last season at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo. Leeanne Williams of Hockinson will serve as a second goalkeeper.
Evans will be assisted by Harlan Cruser, Max Anderson and Brady Anderson.
NWAC AWARDS
LCC earns AVCA accolade
Lower Columbia College was one of five NWAC schools selected to receive academic accolades from the American Volleyball Coaches Association for the 2025 season.
The 2025-26 school year proved to be yet another academically dominant year, as 1,432 collegiate and high school volleyball teams across the country to maintain a year-long grade-point average of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale (or 4.1 on a 5.0 scale), to earn the AVCA Team Academic Award.
Besides LCC, other NWAC schools to receive the honor were Centralia, Columbia Basin, Linn-Benton, and Skagit Valley. All five teams qualified for at least the regional championships in 2025.
Linn-Benton was the winner of the Team Academic Champion award for having the highest GPA among NWAC programs.
Red Devils win Dr. Maury Ray Cup
LCC was among three NWAC schools to win the Athletic Director's Cup, which is awarded annually to the schools that performs the best in each of the conference's 13 men's and women's championships.
Schools are placed in one of three divisions. The Upper Division is for schools with 10 or more sports, the Middle Division is for schools with seven to nine sports, and the Lower Division is for schools with six or fewer sports.
The formula consists of weighting each sport based on the number of participating teams, and adding bonus points based on regular season and postseason finishes. Each school's total points are then divided by the number of sports they compete in.
In the Lower Division, LCC shot up the rankings with the highest score of any school (0.997) across all three divisions. The baseball team won the NWAC title, with the softball and men's basketball teams each finishing second. Women's basketball claimed a top-four placing, and volleyball finished in the top-12.
Spokane (0.885) won the Upper Division, with championships in men's track, women's track, women's soccer and men's cross country. They were also third in women's golf, fourth in men's golf and softball, and a top-eight placing in baseball.
Bellevue (0.883) took the Middle Division after placing first in women's golf, second in men's golf, and placing in the top-12 in baseball and softball.
The Schedules
LCC Volleyball
**Home matches at Truman Myklebust Gymnasium
AUGUST
22 / 6 p.m. **LCC Alumni at LCC
26 / 6 p.m. LCC at Clark
27 / 6 p.m. LCC at Willamette University
28 / 6 p.m. LCC at Linn-Benton
SEPTEMBER
1 / 6 p.m. **Chemeketa at LCC
8 / 7 p.m. **Bellevue at LCC
9 / 6 p.m. LCC at Edmonds
11 / NWAC Crossover at Albany, Oregon
12 / NWAC Crossover at Albany, Oregon
14 / 2 p.m. LCC at Columbia Basin
16 / 7 p.m. LCC at Highline
23 / 6 p.m. **Tacoma at LCC
25 / 6 p.m. LCC at Pierce
30 / 6 p.m. **Centralia at LCC
OCTOBER
2 / 6 p.m. **South Puget Sound at LCC
7 / 6 p.m. LCC at Green River
14 / 6 p.m. **Highline at LCC
21 / 6 p.m. LCC at Tacoma
23 / 6 p.m. **Pierce at LCC
28 / 6:30 p.m. LCC at Centralia
30 / 6 p.m. LCC at South Puget Sound
NOVEMBER
4 / 6 p.m. **Green River at LCC
13 NWAC Regionals
14 / NWAC Regionals
19 / NWAC Championships
20 / NWAC Championships
21 / NWAC Championships
LCC Women's Soccer
**Home matches at Northlake Field
AUGUST
15/ 2 p.m. Columbia Basin at LCC
18 / 11 a.m. Portland vs. LCC at Starfire Field in Tukwila
19 / 2 p.m. Blue Mountain vs. LCC at Starfire Field in Tukwila
29 / 12 p.m. **Highline at LCC
SEPTEMBER
2 / 4 p.m. LCC at Centralia
5 / 12 p.m. LCC at Pierce
9 / 4 p.m. **Green River at LCC
12 / 12 p.m. LCC at Tacoma
16 / 4 p.m. **Centralia at LCC
19 / 12 p.m. **Grays Harbor at LCC
22 / 2 p.m. LCC at Linfield JVs
26 / 12 p.m. **Clark at LCC
30 / TBA LCC at Grays Harbor
OCTOBER
3 / 12 p.m. **Pierce at LCC
10 / 12 p.m. LCC at South Puget Sound
14 / 1 p.m. LCC at Green River
21 / 12 p.m. LCC at Highline
24 / 12 p.m. **Tacoma at LCC
28 / 4 p.m. **South Puget Sound at LCC
31 / 12 p.m. LCC at Clark
NOVEMBER
4 / TBA NWAC Regionals
7 / TBA NWAC Regionals
13 / TBA NWAC Championships
15 / TBA NWAC Championships
About The Author: Rick McCorkle is a respected former sports reporter for The Daily News. He previously covered the Lower Columbia College beat, in addition to other local sports, across several decades and two different centuries. To read the previous Red Devils Signing Report from McCorkle, click here.
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