BOX SCORE

FOREST GROVE, Ore. - The Lewis & Clark volleyball team picked up a win in the third set of their Northwest Conference contest against the Pacific (Ore.) Boxers on Saturday night, but it would not be enough as the host Boxers earned a 3-1 victory.

The Pioneers fall to 7-12 on the season and 3-6 in conference action, while the Boxers improve to 3-13 overall and 2-8 in the NWC.

Junior Margaret Dowling led the Pioneers offensively with a team-high 14 kills, while Katherine Fiedler contributed 11. Sophomore Leia Matsunaga dished out a team-high 36 assists. Freshman Alicia Callejo-Black finished her night with four blocks, as Fiedler and Dowling each came up with two.

Alexa Block led both teams in total kills with 16, while Kelsy Takashima pitched in with 11. Danica Thompson finished with a match-high 52 assists.

Pacific opened the first set on a torrid 6-0 run, quickly accumulating an 8-2 lead. The Pioneers would close the gap to two points at 9-7 on a kill by Gabby Hands, but that is as close as Pacific would allow their opponent to come. The Boxers answered back taking their largest lead at 16-9 on a Mariah McHolland put down. The set would finish in the Boxers favor on a Pio service error, giving Pacific the 25-18 win.

The Boxers would prove to be more dominant in the second set, beginning with another early lead. Pacific would hold the lead the entire set with their largest lead being 12 points, 23-11, on a Pio error. The Pioneers would fight to stay in the set, going on a 6-1 run that would take the Boxers to set point. A kill by Callejo-Black and three Boxer errors would hold Pacific at 24 points, but the Boxers would answer back with a solid kill by McHolland to seal the set at 25-17.

The intermission seemed to settle the Pioneers down setting them up to tie the third set on seven different occasions. The two sides made the opening of the set interesting, with neither team able to get a clear advantage over the other. The Pioneers were able to finally begin to pull away on a Jenn Dowdy kill that broke the 14-14 deadlock. Pacific helped Lewis & Clark begin to inch away, earning the Pios two points on unforced errors. Another Boxer error later in the contest would put the Pios one point away from a win, 24-17, but the Pioneers would not make a win easy on themselves. The Pioneers would commit three errors of their own to keep the Boxers in the set at 24-21. Lewis & Clark would call a timeout following their third consecutive error to regroup and it would pay off. Dowling finished the set for the Pioneers with a well placed attack.

The Pioneers carried their fire over into the fourth set, starting with back-to-back service aces by Matsunaga. Pacific clawed their way back to tie things up at 5-5. The two sides would go onto tie the score eight more times in the set. The Boxers would take the lead for good at 17-16, but the Pioneers would keep things interesting, never allowing Pacific to earn more than a two point cushion. A Pacific error would pull the Pioneers within one point, 24-23, and threaten the Boxer victory. Much like the end of the third set, the Boxers would make a timely timeout to regroup before knocking down the game winning kill.

The Pioneers return to the court on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. when they take on the Pacific Lutheran Lutes.