TACOMA, Wash. – Lewis & Clark College volleyball won the first set of a Northwest Conference match for the first time this season, and they were hungry for a road upset, but the University of Puget Sound fought their way back to a four-set victory on Friday night.
THE BASICS
Puget Sound 3, Lewis & Clark 1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-20)
(Lewis & Clark 6-13, 1-10 NWC)
(Puget Sound 14-6, 7-5 NWC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Pioneers recorded six aces in the opening set and outhit the Loggers .159 to .105 to win the first set of a match for the first time since a three-set win over Wells College earlier this fall. Senior
Izzy Willis recorded the first two points for the Pioneers with a kill and an ace to start the match up 2-0. After junior
Annika Traxler tied the score at five all, Puget Sound went on a 5-0 run that ended when Willis knocked down her second kill.
Senior libero
Katie Shimaura and juniors
Ella Ruark and
Emily Strand kept the Pioneers in the set with big plays that tied the score. A Shimaura ace tied it at 13, Ruark's second kill of the match made it 14-all, and Strand's first kill tied the set at 18-18. A kill by freshman
Christi San Diego gave the Pioneers their final lead at 22-21, and an ace by Willis completed a 5-0 Lewis & Clark run that secured the first set.
Traxler tied set number two at five-all with her second kill of the match, but the Loggers went on a 3-0 run to go up 8-5. San Diego and Willis teamed up for their second block of the match to pull the Pioneers within 8-7, and a Willis kill a few points later tied the set at nine. Lewis & Clark took a 15-13 lead after Traxler recorded a kill, teamed up with Strand for a block, and then junior
Bethany Ballesteros served another Pioneer ace, forcing a Logger timeout. Freshman
Ruby Kuerschner used a well-placed second ball tip to the far corner to tie the set at 17. Puget Sound utilized a 5-1 run to take the late lead. Facing set point and down 24-20, Strand recorded her second kill of the set and started a 3-0 Pioneer run that included another Ballesteros ace and Traxler kill. The Loggers finally evened the match with a kill and a 25-23 set-two win.
The Pioneers struggled after the break as the Loggers jumped to a 15-5 lead in the third set. Lewis & Clark would pull within six points as back-to-back kills by Traxler, followed by a block by Strand and Ruark, made the score 18-12, but they would get no closer in the set.
Puget Sound carried momentum into the fourth set as they jumped out to 6-2 and 9-4 leads. Two kills by Ruark and another by freshman
Isabel Melean-Williams during the Logger's opening run prevented the set from running away from the Pioneers. Then, back-to-back kills by Willis and two consecutive aces by Sabado gave the Pioneers life as they trailed 9-8. After a Lewis & Clark timeout, San Diego knocked down a kill, and Puget Sound was logged with a bad set to again make the deficit only a point at 11-10. The Pioneers tied the set at 17 after Traxler and Willis recorded kills, but the Loggers used an 8-4 run to close the match.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Ruark recorded a career-high five kills and hit a collegiate-best .333 from the floor with no errors on 15 attempts.
- Sabado served a career-best four aces to lead the Pioneers from the line.
- Shimaura recorded her 984th career dig against the Loggers, finishing with a match-high 22 digs. She is currently fourth on the Pioneers' career dig list and is 16 shy of becoming the fifth player in program history with 1,000 career digs.
- Traxler recorded a career-high 14 digs to go with her 10 kills in the match.
- Willis finished with 12 kills and 16 digs for her 10th career double-double.
- Lewis & Clark recorded double-digit service aces for the seventh time this season and held an 11-4 advantage over Puget Sound. The Pioneers lead the NWC with 2.40 aces per set and are second in the conference with 156 aces total this season.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark takes on Linfield tomorrow at 6 p.m. in Pamplin Sports Center, where they will play four of their final five matches.
