BOX SCORE
TACOMA, Wash. – The nations 15th ranked team
proved to be too much for the Lewis & Clark volleyball team to
handle, as the Pioneers fell to the Puget Sound Loggers, 20-25,
24-26, 25-22, 22-25, in a Northwest Conference match on Saturday
night at Memorial Fieldhouse.
The Pioneers (5-5, 1-1 NWC) challenged the Loggers (8-2, 2-0 NWC)
in the first set, but were unable to overcome a six-point swing
that took the set from an 18-18 tie, to 24-18 Loggers. The Pioneers
were able to get two more points on the board, but were unable to
keep the Loggers from scoring, falling 20-25.
In the second set, the Pioneers fell behind early but rallied back
to tie the game 20-20 before taking a one point advantage. The
Pioneers had victory in their sights, taking their first lead of
the set on a kill by senior Sarah Hall for a 21-20 lead. Puget
Sound had other ideas however, fighting its way back into the set
to take the 26-24 victory.
Undiscouraged, the Pioneers came out in set three determined,
building a large enough lead to hold off the Loggers. L&C used
a crucial four-point run to go from down 17-18 to up 21-18 and it
was enough to prevent Puget Sound from collecting the sweep.
The Loggers wasted little time to end the match in set four,
putting down 14 kills and committing just one attack error to earn
the victory. The Pioneers fought their hardest to overcome the
Loggers, coming from a 15-8 deficit and cutting it to 20-19, but it
would not be enough to keep the Loggers from their second straight
conference win.
Lewis & Clark was led by sophomore Margaret Dowling who
finished with 12 kills. Junior Katherine Fiedler added 11 kills and
Hall finished with 10. Freshman Leia Matsunaga had a strong game
setting, recording 41 assists on 48 total L&C kills.
Brynn Blickenstaff had a match-high 17 kills for the Loggers, while
Lindsey Denman had 16. Stephanie Harvey had a team-high 30 assists
for Puget Sound.
The Pioneers return home for their next contest, hosting Northwest
Conference member Whitworth on Friday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m.
