PORTLAND, Ore. – Senior Katie Shimaura became the fourth player in program history to record over 1,000 digs in their career on Saturday night as the Lewis & Clark College volleyball team earned their second Northwest Conference win of the season and ended a four-match skid as they handed visiting Linfield University a four-set defeat in Pamplin Sports Center.    
 
THE BASICS
 
Lewis & Clark 3, Linfield 1 (25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 25-13)
(Lewis & Clark 7-13, 2-10 NWC)
(Linfield 7-12, 3-9 NWC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Shimaura entered Saturday's contest needing 16 digs to join the Pioneers' exclusive 1,000-dig club, and the libero achieved that milestone while setting her sights on the next as she finished with a match and season-high 32 digs.
 
The play of the Pioneers' back row specialist in the first set contributed to Lewis & Clark taking control of the match after a slow start as Shimaura recorded 11 digs in the opening set. Another considerable piece that changed the set's momentum was the service of junior Annika Traxler. After Linfield opened the match on a 9-3 run, junior Emily Strand knocked down her first kill for a side out and sent Traxler to the service line. The Pioneers went on a 10-0 run starting with Strand's kill, and Traxler served up four of her career-high six aces during the stretch, including three consecutive.
 
The Wildcats responded with a run of their own and regained the lead at 17-14, but the Pioneers were not going to back down. A Linfield service error started an 8-0 Lewis & Clark run in which Traxler recorded a kill, and freshmen Ruby Kuerschner (two aces) and Christi San Diego (three kills) combined for five points. While the Wildcats attempted to mount a comeback, the Pioneers held on for the 25-23 first-set win.
 
Linfield jumped out to another early lead in the second set, and Lewis & Clark took an early timeout down 8-3. Strand was the spark for the Pioneers when play resumed, and her kill started a 7-2 run that tied the set at 10-all after sophomore Reilyn Sabado served up back-to-back aces. The teams traded side-outs until 15-all when Strand recorded the fourth of her career-high 11 kills to pull in front 16-15 and force the first Linfield timeout. Lewis & Clark rattled off three more points as a kill by Traxler was book ended by an ace by junior Bethany Ballesteros and a block by Kuerschner and Strand. The Pioneers called their final timeout up 21-19 and outscored the Wildcats over the last seven points, in which Shimaura recorded dig number 1,000, and Senior Izzy Willis terminated three kills to take a 2-0 lead into the break.
 
For the third set in a row, Linfield took the early lead (7-2), and Lewis & Clark played catch up, pulling within 9-7. This time, the Wildcats went on another run and extended their lead to 16-9. The Pioneers slowly chipped away, then took a 6-2 run late in the set behind two kills by Willis and held off two Wildcat set points before they finally fell 25-22.
 
Lewis & Clark broke open a 2-2 tie in the fourth set with a 4-0 run that was capped off by a Willis ace and didn't look back the rest of the match. Traxler extended the Pioneer lead to 15-6 with personal ace number six of the match and number 14 for the team. Lewis & Clark outscored Linfield 10-7 down the stretch. The Pioneers secured their first NWC conference win at home in almost two years when Kuerschner dished up Traxler for the winning kill.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Shimaura has 1,016 career digs and is 22 digs shy of moving into the top-3 in program history for career digs.
• The Pioneers' 14 aces against the Wildcats is the fifth-highest total by a team in the NWC this season. Lewis & Clark also holds the top spot for team aces in a match this season (25 vs. Illinois Tech, September 1).
• Traxler set a career-high in aces (6) tonight and recorded a career-best 21 digs against the Wildcats. She set her previous career-best in digs (16) last night against Puget Sound.
• Kuerschner recorded 36 assists in the match to set a new career-high. She set her previous career-high of 35 assists in her collegiate debut earlier this season. The freshman has dished out 30 or more assists five times this season. Kuerschner added 11 digs and recorded her seventh career double-double.
• Willis had 16 kills in the match to lead all players while hitting .196. The senior is second in the NWC with 249 kills this season.
• The Pioneers' middle blockers not only combined for nine blocks, but they also had a successful night on offense. Strand hit .429 with a new career-high 11 kills, and San Diego tied her career-high with five kills and hit .308.    

WHO'S NEXT
 
Lewis & Clark hosts Willamette for a midweek match on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in Pamplin Sports Center.