Box Score PORTLAND, Ore. -- A stellar crowd of students roared as the Lewis & Clark Pioneers won the final three sets in an 18-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-21 win over the George Fox Bruins at Pamplin Sports Center.
Leading by two, the Pios pulled away with four of the final five points in the last set to seal Friday's home opener of Northwest Conference play. Kelsey Parker and Izzy Willis combined for 25 kills, while Debi Chun added 10.
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Key Moments
A first set loss saw the Pios hit their lowest percentage of the night. In the following three sets, Lewis & Clark never hit worse than .314 including a .500 mark in the finale.
"First and foremost, thank you to all the fans, families and loved ones that came out to support us tonight. It made a huge difference," interim head coach Kaiao Nahale-a said. "We had major contributions from the entire team on and off the court. Our team put in so much hard work this week and it showed out there on the floor."
Cameryn Nagaji made her first career start and put down six kills on a .714 percentage. Parker and Willis both had season highs with 18 and 17 kills, respectively. Willis' .548 percentage was her best ever with more than 10 attempts.
Lewis & Clark (3-6, 1-2 NWC) went on a five-point run to begin the third set with Michelle McGinn serving. Katie Shimaura, who started at libero and had 18 digs, had her lone kill in that stretch that kept the Pios ahead by no less than two point throughout. Eventually, on kills by Willis and Nagaji, the Pios led 21-13 to take the set by their largest margin of the night.
Deeper Look
- Lewis & Clark's 62 kills is a season high, and its .338 hitting percentage was its second-best this season (.475 vs Mills on Sept. 11)
- With seven kills, Isabel Artiaga has had no fewer than that total in any of her last three games
- The Pioneers combined for 59 assists on Friday, also a season high, with McGinn (40), Sydney Richardson (12) and Shimaura (7) leading the way
- Kate Kimbro had two solo blocks and three total, while Nagali added six total blocks
- The Pios reached a season high with nine total blocks
- Kassandra Staton and Addison Robertson led the Bruins (6-3, 1-2 NWC) with 12 kills apiece
Looking Ahead
The Pioneers host Pacific on Saturday at 6 p.m.
