Box Score TACOMA, Wash. -- Up 22-18 in the third set, already holding a 2-0 lead in the match, it appeared the Lewis & Clark Pioneers were on the verge of their second conference, straight sets victory on the road this season, but Pacific Lutheran won the next seven points of the set, eventually taking the match in five sets, 26-28, 23-25, 25-22, 25-18, 21-19, on Friday night at Names Family Court.
The win lifts Pacific Lutheran into sole possession of third place in the Northwest Conference standings while dropping Lewis & Clark below .500 for the first time this season.
With the Pioneers leading by four in the third set, Mackenzie Harris dropped a kill to give the serve back to PLU and Gabrielle Alley. Back-to-back attack errors by Julia Somers (pictured below right) and Casey Myszkowski closed the Lutes deficit to 22-21, prompting a Lewis & Clark timeout.
Kendle Valade-Nunez and Roshel Muzzall landed kills to put Pacific Lutheran ahead by one before Harris scored another. Somers committed a final attacking error to end the set and keep the match alive for PLU.
"The match was close the whole way," said Lewis & Clark head coach Stacie Matz-Gordon. "Both teams did a nice job making adjustments the whole night."
Lewis & Clark (8-10; 5-6 NWC) appeared to have recovered in the fourth set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead, but Pacific Lutheran scored seven of the next eight points to move ahead 7-5. The set ended up being the Pios' worst hitting percentage set of the entire match at .000 - seven kills and seven errors - as PLU pulled even for the match with a seven-point win.
The fifth set saw eight ties, the last at 19-19 after a service error by PLU's Cara Gillespie and an attacking error by Lewis & Clark's Riley Stephens. The match ended on attack errors by Ali Carleton and Stephens for the final two Lutes points.
In the loss, Somers established a new career-high with 22 kills, finishing with a team-high .203 hitting percentage among those with double-digit attempts. Michaela Edgers led the match at .414 with 15 kills for Pacific Lutheran (13-7; 7-4). Two of her teammates, Chloe Epker (11) and Roshel Muzzall (10), posted 10-plus kills as well. Carleton landed 13 kills herself with a .064 hitting percentage.
Alexe Navarro posted 30 digs, her third 30-plus digs match of the season and tenth of her career. Her all-time best Lewis & Clark dig total is now 1,419.
Kortney Meyer and Mikayla Lopez, along with PLU's Valade-Nunez, led the match with four aces apiece. Lopez led the Pios in assists with 30, while Valade-Nunez had a match-best 56 assists.
"It was a true barn burner match," said Matz-Gordon. "Both teams fought until the end and we came up just a little short.
"We're excited to get back to Pamplin for some home matches starting tomorrow."
Including Friday night, Lewis & Clark had played seven of its last eight matches on the road. Starting with Saturday's 7 p.m. match against Linfield, the Pios finish with four of the final five at home.
Other Northwest Conference Scores - Friday
Linfield 3, Puget Sound 2
Whitworth 3, George Fox 0
Willamette 3, Pacific 2
