Boxers On Losing End Of Back And Forth Battle
Box Score
McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Pacific and Linfield engaged in a back-and-forth battle in their Northwest Conference volleyball opener Wednesday night, but the Wildcats got the final say as they downed the Boxers in five sets, 18-25, 25-17, 21-25, 25-14, 15-12, at Ted Wilson Gymnasium.
The Boxers (1-8, 0-1 NWC) managed to win the first and third sets, but fell badly in a fourth set that saw Pacific finish with just three kills. Pacific rallied back from five points down in the deciding frame and were within one point late before Tara Hill closed things out for Linfield (3-6, 1-0 NWC) with two kills in the final five rallies.
Alexa Block (So., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) led Pacific with her third double-double of the season of 14 kills and 10 digs. Danica Thompson (Fr., Sisters, Ore.) added 35 assists and Jade Thompson (So., Marysville, Wash.) had 31 digs. Lychelle Roberts-Kirby (Fr., Kent, Wash.) came up with seven of the Boxers' 13 blocks, including two solo efforts. As a team, Pacific hit .030 for the match.
Hill paced Linfield with 14 kills and 13 digs. Emily Carpenter added 27 assists, Samantha Lau had 28 digs and Kelsey Ludin finished with eight blocks.
Pacific never trailed in the opening set and built a 15-6 lead on a kill by Block. Jade Thompson followed by serving Pacific to four straight points, all off of Linfield errors, to make it a 19-10 advantage. Linfield charged back, coming within 20-17 thanks in part of a string of four straight Pacific miscues. Pacific closed by scoring three of the next four points, the final on a Samantha Harris (Fr., Selah, Wash.) ace.
It was Linfield's turn to dominate in the second set as the Wildcats opened up an 11-5 lead of Ludin's service ace. Pacific would come no closer than five points the rest of the way, cutting the lead to 15-10 on a Linfield attack error. The Wildcats made it as much as a nine-point advantage late en route to the win.
Pacific regained composure in the third set, coming back from a 4-2 deficit to take the 5-4 lead on a kill by Keahi Braginsky-Ahloo (Fr., Ewa Beach, Hawaii). Unlike the first set, Linfield never let Pacific get away and eventually took the lead back at 19-18 on a Pacific setting error. Pacific took the lead back at 20-19 on a Linfield setting error, starting a string of five straight points that gave Pacific the win.
The Boxers were stymied by errors in the fourth, managing just three kills against 11 attack errors. Despite that, Pacific was within 12-10 midway through the set. The Boxers scored just one more point off of their own serve, though, as the Wildcats built the eventual nine-point win.
Linfield jumped on top to open the fifth frame, building a 6-1 lead on a Ludin block. The Boxers rebounded to come within 9-8 on Block's final kill of the night. Emily Carpenter and Bethany Dickey served Linfield to five of the next six points to build the 14-9 lead. Kelsy Takashima (Jr., Kaunakakai, Hawaii) notched back-to-back kills to bring the Boxers to within 14-12 late, but Hill finished things off with her 14th kill of the night.
The match was the Boxers' second straight five-set match. It also marked the fifth straight time that Linfield and Pacific have played more than three sets, with three of those going to five sets.
Pacific returns to conference play on Saturday night when they face Lewis & Clark in Portland. Match time is 7 p.m.
