The Pioneer volleyball team earned a 25-22, 25-22, 27-25
sweep of the Willamette Bearcats Tuesday night in Salem.
In the first set, the Pioneers capitalized on nine Willamette
unforced errors (five serving errors and four ball handling errors)
to propel them to a 25-22 victory. The Pioneers and Bearcats were
tied 11-11 when Kelsey Clark (senior, Eagle Creek, Ore.) and
Margaret Dowling (freshman, Burlingame, Calif.) blocked a Bearcat
attack to put the Pioneers ahead. The Bearcats were within two
points later in the match, 19-17, when a kill by Jessamy Holland
(junior, Honolulu, Hawaii) swung the momentum back in the Pioneers'
favor. L&C held on for a 25-22 victory.
In the second set, the Bearcats led early with the Pioneers
having to erase a three-point deficit (12-9). A kill by Kelsey
Clark and then back-to-back blocks by Margaret Dowling and
Katherine Fiedler (sophomore, San Diego, Calif.) tied the match. A
kill by Margaret Dowling on a set by Sarah Hall (junior, Vancouver,
Wash.) gave the Pioneers their first lead of the set, 14-13.
The Pioneers led by three, 18-15, only to see Willamette come back
to tie the match at 18. The Pioneers went back up 19-18 on a kill
by Katherine Fielder. The Pioneers had set point at 24-20.
Willamette managed to stave off two set point chances before a
Bearcat attack error closed the set 25-22 in favor of the Pioneers.
In the third set, Willamette changed up their lineup, replacing
their setter and their libero as well as two outside hitters. The
changes fired up the Bearcats, with the team battling the Pioneers
in a set featuring 13 ties between the two teams. With the Pioneers
using a kill by Kelsey Clark to tie the match at 25-25, another
kill by Kelsey Clark put the Pioneers up 26-25. A kill by Margaret
Dowling ended the set 27-25 and gave the Pioneers the three set
sweep over Willamette.
Katherine Fielder led the Pioneers with 10 kills and three block
assists. Kelsey Clark had 8 kills with a solo block and four block
assists. Sarah Hall had 10 digs for the Pioneers.
With the victory, the Pioneers pull back to .500 with an overall
record of 8-8 and remain in fourth place in the NWC with a 3-2
mark.
Listen to an
audio replay of the match (download the .wma file then listen
to it on your computer using Windows Media Player).
The Pioneers are back home Saturday night for their homecoming
match when they host George Fox at 7pm at the Pamplin Sports
Center.
