SALEM, Ore. — Lewis & Clark College volleyball dropped a three-set Northwest Conference contest Saturday evening to Willamette University at Cone Field House. The Bearcats hit .333 as a team and used steady play on both sides of the net to claim a 25-20, 25-15, 25-19 win.
THE BASICS
Willamette 3, Lewis & Clark 0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-19)
(Lewis & Clark 0-15, 0-8 NWC)
(Willamette 6-9, 4-4 NWC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Junior outside hitters
Isabel Meleán-Williams and
Kaitlyn Jensen led Lewis & Clark with eight kills each. Meleán-Williams hit a team-best .350 and added two digs and a block assist. Jensen totaled three digs and two aces to round out the offensive highlights.
Junior setter
Ruby Kuerschner followed with four kills and 12 assists, while junior setter
Kenzie Edwards finished close behind with 11 assists, a service ace and six digs.
Senior outside hitter
Abigail Warrick added three kills and three digs, and junior middle blocker
Christi San Diego chipped in three kills on .182 hitting with two digs.
Defensively, senior libero
Reilyn Sabado led the team with seven digs while sophomore libero
Ainsley Mochrie and first-year
Ariah Potts each recorded three. Junior middle blocker
HB Schuett posted one kill, one block assist, two aces and a dig.
The Pioneers opened the night with a competitive first set that featured three lead changes and five ties. Jensen and Meleán-Williams combined for four early kills to keep Lewis & Clark close. The Pioneers erased an early 5-1 deficit with a four-point surge capped by a Kuerschner kill to even the frame at 7-7. A service ace from Jensen and back-to-back kills from Meleán-Williams and Kuerschner gave the visitors a 12-8 lead. Willamette regrouped and used a late 7-2 run to move ahead 21-19 before closing out the set 25-20.
The Bearcats carried the momentum into the second frame, opening with an 8-2 advantage. Lewis & Clark fought back behind kills from Warrick and Meleán-Williams and a service ace from Jensen, cutting the deficit to 10-6. The hosts responded to push their lead back to double digits and closed the set 25-15 behind eight kills from outside hitter Katey Cramer.
The Pioneers put together their strongest offensive effort in the third set, hitting .192 as a team. Meleán-Williams and Jensen each notched four kills, and Lewis & Clark finished with 11 total kills in the frame. Meleán-Williams helped trim the deficit to 23-18, but Willamette scored the final two points to secure the sweep.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Meleán-Williams hit .340 over the weekend and finished with 18 total kills.
- Jensen recorded her sixth multi-ace game of the season and reached eight or more kills for the fifth straight contest.
- Sabado posted her best defensive weekend in Northwest Conference play with 21 digs.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark returns home to host Puget Sound on Friday at 7 p.m. in Pamplin Sports Center.
