PORTLAND, Ore. – Lewis & Clark College volleyball overcame poor hitting in the first set and made late rallies in the second and third sets but were unable to stop Pacific University in their penultimate Northwest Conference match of the season, falling 25-16, 25-23, 27-25 on Friday night in Pamplin Sports Center.  
 
THE BASICS
 
Pacific 3, Lewis & Clark 0 (25-16, 25-23, 27-25)
(Lewis & Clark 7-16, 2-13 NWC)
(Pacific 8-16, 4-11 NWC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Junior Annika Traxler led the Pioneers with 13 kills and three aces in the match while adding eight digs and a block assist against the Boxers.
 
Senior Izzy Willis led the team with a .320 hitting percentage with nine kills on 25 attempts and one error, while junior Emily Strand hit .267 (7-3-15). Willis added an ace against Pacific and has 94 career service aces, moving her into a tie for fifth in program history with Mikayla Lopez.
 
Katie Shimaura recorded 14 digs to lead the Pioneers, and the senior libero became just the seventh player in program history to record over 400 digs (404) in a single season and the first since Alexe Navarro did it in three consecutive seasons (2013-2015).
 
Freshman setter Ruby Kuerschner recorded her eighth career double-double with 27 assists and 11 digs.

Freshman Christi San Diego added three kills and a block assist, while junior Ella Ruark had a kill and three block assists. 
 
Lewis & Clark fell behind early in the first set, facing deficits of 13-2 and 20-11. The Pioneers could not overcome poor hitting in the first set (-.040) and lost 25-16.
 
Willis knocked down back-to-back kills to start set number two and helped the Pios jump out to a lead of 3-0 that they extended to 12-6 before the Boxers took their first timeout. Pacific tied the set at 17, and the two teams would trade points until the set was knotted at 23. The Boxers took a 2-0 lead with consecutive kills to end the set.
 
The Pioneers fell behind 5-1 to start the third set. A kill by Willis a few points later pulled the home team within 8-7. Lewis & Clark took their final timeout of the set down 17-13, which iced Pacific's Claire Stipsits at the service line after committing a service error. Two aces by Traxler put the Pioneers down one, 18-17. A kill by Traxler forced the Boxers' first timeout out with a 21-20 Pioneer lead. Pacific had match point at 24-22, but Strand knocked down a kill and forced Pacific's final timeout. Traxler tied the set with kills at 24-all and 25-all. The Boxers again hit their way to a win with consecutive kills.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Willis has 730 career kills and is three kills shy of overtaking Cheri Soliday for eighth in program history for career kills.
• Shimaura is eighth in program history with 89 career aces.
• Strand has recorded four or more block assists in five matches this season and leads the team with 49 total blocks.
• The Pioneers have served 196 aces this season, which is the third best performance by a team in program history. They are eight aces away from moving into second in program history and have achieved that mark in 13 of their matches this season.  

 
WHO'S NEXT
 
Lewis & Clark will honor seniors Willis, Shimaura, and team manager Alex Terry prior to tomorrow's 6 p.m. match against Pacific Lutheran University in Pamplin Sports Center.