PORTLAND, Ore. – Lewis & Clark College volleyball dominated the second set in their home opener on Friday night in Pamplin Sports Center, but the University of Puget Sound left Palatine Hill with a 3-1 Northwest Conference win.
THE BASICS
Puget Sound 3, Lewis & Clark 1 (25-18, 14-25, 25-17, 25-19)
(Lewis & Clark 0-9, 0-2 NWC)
(Puget Sound 6-6, 3-1 NWC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sophomore
Isabel Meleán-Williams and senior
Annika Traxler tied to lead all players with 10 kills each against the Loggers. Meleán-Williams knocked down seven of her kills in the first set while hitting .875 (7-0-8).
Senior libero
Bethany Ballesteros led the team defensively with 23 digs and added four assists and two service aces.
Puget Sound took an early 6-0 lead to start the match, but Traxler and fellow senior
Emily Strand (three kills, two blocks) ended the rally with a block. Five of the Pioneer's first seven points in the set came from kills by Meleán-Williams, who pulled the team with five (12-7). The Loggers extended their lead to 20-12 before a small Lewis & Clark rally closed the gap to 22-18 on Meleán-Williams' seventh kill of the set. The Loggers closed it out on a 3-0 run.
Lewis & Clark jumped out to leads of 6-1 and 10-4 in set number two and forced Puget Sound to utilize both of their timeouts early after the Pios took a 15-8 lead. Senior
Ella Ruark (seven kills, three digs) hit back-to-back kills to give the Pioneers a 21-9 advantage. She then served up two consecutive aces to give Lewis & Clark match point at 24-12. The Pioneers tied the set with a 25-14 set two victory. Ruark recorded four kills in the set on .571 (4-0-7) hitting and served up three of her career-high four aces.
After the break, Puget Sound jumped out to 12-3 and 20-10 leads, forcing Lewis & Clark to timeout both times. The Pioneers used a 6-3 run to pull within 23-16 before the Loggers closed out the set.
The Pioneers took a 2-1 lead to start set number four, then the Loggers went on a 10-1 run to take control. Lewis & Clark fought back and pulled within 20-16 after Traxler knocked down a kill, served up an ace, and sophomore
Ruby Kuerschner and junior
Abby Warrick combined for a block. Puget Sound won the set 25-19 to take the match.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Ballesteros recorded her second career 20+ dig match against the Loggers.
- Kuerschner finished with 26 assists, 13 digs, four kills and two blocks.
- Traxler added two blocks and six digs.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark hosts NWC-leading Pacific Lutheran on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Pamplin Sports Center.
