The Pioneer volleyball team defeated the visiting Willamette
Bearcats 26-24,
25-19, 25-27, 25-19 Tuesday night at the Pamplin Sports Center.
Katherine Fiedler had seven blocks for the Pioneers.
The Pioneers led through most of the first set, but never
managed more than a three-point lead. The Bearcats Twice pulled
within a point, including trimming the Pioneer lead to 18-17 on a
block by Kelley Lindstrom, but the Pioneers came right back, with
Katherine Fiedler (sophomore, San Diego, Calif.) landing a hard
kill to keep the Pioneer lead alive. The Bearcats finnaly caught
the Pioneers at 21-21 when a Pioneer error tied the match. The
Bearcats went up one, 22-21, on a kill by Jessica Durham. The
Pioneers answered by re-tying the set, 22-22, on a kill by Kelsey
Clark (senior, Eagle Creek, Ore.). After the set was again tied
23-23, a Katherine Fiedler block gave the Pioneers their first set
point. Jessica Durham retied the frame, 24-24, with a kill. A
bearcat service error gave the Pioneers their second set-point
opportunity, A kill by Jessamy Holland (junior, Honolulu, Hawaii)
gave the Pioneers the 26-24 victory.
In the second set, the Pioneers were crusing, up 18-9 when the
Bearcats subbed and sent Kellie Menghini to the service line.
Menghini had three staright aces to start her service, and four
total in her trip back to the line to make it an 18-14 set. After a
pair of Pioneer points, the Bearcats rallied again, scoring five
straight to pull within one point, 20-19, on a kill by Christina
McGilvray. A kill by Margaret Dowling (freshman, Burlingame,
Calif.) ended the BEarcat run. With Kelsey Clark on serve, the
Pioneers scored four-straight points to earn the 25-19 victory.
In the third set,the Pioneers built a comfortbale lead to a
six-pint advantage, 15-9, on a block by Jessamy Holland (junior,
Honolulu, Hawaii) and Kelsey Clark (senior, Eagle Creek, Ore.).
Willamette used three straight kills by Jessica Durham followed by
a Christine Dion service ace to pull within two, 15-13, and turn
the momentum of the set. The Bearcats tied it up 18-18 on a kill by
Jessica McGraw. A service error gave the Pioneers a sideout.
Willamette re-tied the match three more time, pushing to score to
22-22 on a kill by Andrea Moffett. They followed the Moffett kill
with kills by Kelley Lindstrom and Jessica Durham to take a
two-point lead, 24-22, setting up set point. Andrea Chase (senior,
Santa Rosa, Calif.) staved off the first set point with a kill,
giving the Pioneers a sideout and putting them back on serve. A
block by Sarah Hall (junior, Vancouver, Wash.) tied thematch 24-24.
A Willamette attack error gave the Pioneers set point, 25-24, but a
kill by the BEarcats' Kelley Lindstrom kept the set going. A
service ace by Jessica Durham gave the Bearcats their third
set-point opportunity. A kill by Jessica McGraw gave the Bearcats
the 27-25 victory.
In the final frame, the Pioneers broke open a close set when a
block by Sarah Hall and Kelsey Clark helped edge the Pioneer lead
out to 13-9. The Bearcats pulled within two, 16-14, on a kill by
Jessica Durham, but a service error helped the Pioneers earn the
sideou. Kills by Katherine Fiedler and Andrea Chase helped them
extend the lead. The Pioneers held on for the 25-19 victory and the
3-1 match win.
Jessica Durham had a game-high 19 kills for the Bearcats. Durham
also had 14 defensive digs and four service aces. Jessica McGraw
had 14 kills and 14 digs.
For the Pioneers, Margaret Dowling again led the team in kills,
landing 10 of them with 11 defensive digs. Katherine Fiedler, the
Northwest Conference's leading blocker, had seven blocks in the
match (three solo, four assisted) to go with six kills. Melody
Kayser (senior, Eugene, Ore.) had 20 assists and 10 digs.
With the victory, the Pioneers improve to 14-10 overall and 9-4
in the Northwest Conference and remain in third place in the
Conference standings. Willamette falls to 6-17 (4-9 NWC).
The Pioneers have Friday off, playing again on Saturday,
November 1, when they head to Newberg to take on the George Fox
Bruins. Live play-by-play of the match will be available live on
the internet on sportsjuice.com, the final volleyball broadcast of
the season. The match begins at 7pm.
