PORTLAND, Ore. -- A straight sets victory fueled by seven aces and nine blocks kept the Lewis & Clark Pioneers undefeated on the season. The Pios earned their third win in a row, 25-22, 25-21, 25-22, defeating the Willamette Bearcats on Friday at Pamplin Sports Center.

Makena Ohlmaier had a team-high nine kills and Izzy Willis hit .292 with eight kills in the victory. Starting at libero, Ka'anelaokapu'uwai Pakaki-Pias had 13 digs to go with 10 and 24 assists from Michelle McGinn. McGinn and Willis had two aces apiece, while Willis picked up five blocks.

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Key Moments

Two runs in the second set were crucial on Friday, one of which Willamette answered and the other the Bearcats didn't. In the second set, McGinn held serve to flip an 11-9 deficit into a 13-11 lead for the Pios. Willamette won seven of the next 10 points to regain an 18-16 edge. With Kelsie Nakashima serving, the Pioneers won five straight points to recapture a three-point edge and ultimately win the set by four.

"I'm super impressed by how great of teammates they are and how supportive they are," freshman Willis said of her first-year teammates. "Willamette got on runs and we shut them down. When we got on serving runs and put pressure on them."

After tight sets throughout in the first two, the third was a yo-yo. The Pioneers jumped out quickly to a 7-1 lead. The Bearcats momentarily closed back to within two on Emma Porter's serve. When the Pioneers went ahead 20-11, Willamette answered with eight straight points. The Pios closed out the set on an attack error and McGinn's kill.

"We have a pretty young team," McGinn said. "We really lean on each other and believe the other person has us."

Deeper Look

• McGinn is fourth in the NWC in hitting percentage, while Willis and Parker are second and fourth, respectively, in aces per set
• Willis (2.82) and Parker (2.40) lead the team in kills per set, while Kate Kimbro has 1.25 blocks per set, a team high
• Pakaki-Pias is averaging 3.91 digs per set to lead the team followed by McGinn (3.18) and Parker (2.90)

Looking Ahead

Lewis & Clark will have to wait just under two weeks for its next match. The Pioneers play back-to-back games with Pacific on Mar. 25-26.