BOX SCORE
PORTLAND, Ore. - The Lewis & Clark volleyball put together an all-around team effort on Friday night, taking down No. 19 Puget Sound in three straight sets in a Northwest Conference match-up.
The Pioneers improve to 9-10 on the season and move to above .500 in conference with a 5-4 record. The Loggers fall to 14-3 overall and 6-3 in the NWC. The Pio win pulls the series even at 1-1 after the Loggers won in the first meeting, taking down the Pios 3-0 in Tacoma on Sept. 16. The win also marks the second consecutive week that the Pioneers have taken down a nationally ranked opponent at home in three sets. Last Friday night the Pioneers defeated then #21 Whitworth in three sets.
Lewis & Clark finished the contest with a .248 attacking percentage, compared to the Loggers .130. The percentage is the Pioneers best of the season against conference opponents.
Senior Margaret Dowling finished with a match-high 13 kills for Lewis & Clark, while being one of five players to finish in double-digits in digs with 11. Freshman Kataleya Milan had 11 kills and 13 digs for the Pioneers. Elena Hoff led all players in digs with a match-high 15, while Jennifer Dowdy had 13 and Leia Matsunaga came up with 10. Freshman Brigitte Russo finished the match with three blocks for the Pios and Alicia Callejo-Black finished with two.
Brynn Blickenstaff led the Loggers with nine kills, while Jaime Ecklund and Jackie Harvey each had seven. Harvey also finished with a team-high 11 digs for Puget Sound.
The Pioneers scored the first point of the first set on a Callejo-Black kill and never looked back on their way to a 25-17 win. The Loggers tied the set twice but would never be able to capture the lead.
The second set began the same as the first, with Lewis & Clark running up an early advantage, but this time Puget Sound managed to come from behind to take the lead. Down 20-18, the Pioneers buckled down and took advantage of several Logger errors. The Pioneers would end the set on a well placed kill by Dowling to win 25-22.
Puget Sound opened the third set with an attacking error, once again letting the Pioneers begin the contest with the lead. The early part of the set was a tightly contested battle before the Pioneers once again settled in and took control of the contest. After a bad set by the Loggers tied the set at 12-12 the Pioneers took the lead on a Millan kill and never relinquished the lead. Dowling once again ended the set with a strong attack that handed the Pioneers a 25-23 win and the three set sweep.
Lewis & Clark returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. hosting Pacific Lutheran.
