Boxers Drop Hard Fought 3-Set Match To Willamette
Box Score
SALEM, Ore. – Kelsy Takashima's (Jr., Kaunakakai, Hawaii) 14 kills were not enough to lift Pacific to the victory Friday night as Willamette beat the Boxers in three hard-fought sets, 28-26, 25-20, 25-23, in Northwest Conference volleyball action at the Cone Field House.
Takashima came off the bench to hit her 14 kills against just four errors to finish with a .417 attack percentage as the Boxers (1-10, 0-3 NWC) hit .210 as a team for the match. Alexa Block (So., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) added nine kills, Danica Thompson (Fr., Sisters, Ore.) had 34 assists and Jade Thompson (So., Marysville, Wash.) connected for 17 digs.
A much-improved Willamette team (6-6, 2-1 NWC) matched the Boxers well, hitting .274 for the match. Molly Blankenship led the way with 18 kills and a .531 attack percentage. Emily Compton added 35 assists and Elizabeth Baldwin had 14 digs.
Neither team led by more than three points in an exciting first set that saw five lead changes and 10 ties. Pacific held the first major lead, going ahead 11-8 on a Mariah McHolland (Fr., Renton, Wash.) kill. The Bearcats came back to take the 12-11 lead on a service ace before a string of four straight points, two off of Willamette ball handling errors, put the Boxers back ahead at 16-14.
Willamette rebounded to go back ahead 20-17 on a Pacific attack error and led 22-20 when the Boxers charged back to force set point at 24-23 on a block by Keahi Braginsky-Ahloo (Fr., Wahiawa, Hawaii) and Lychelle Roberts-Kirby (Fr., Kent, Wash.). Danica Reed hit the key kill for the Bearcats to tie it at 24. The teams traded serves four more times before Blankenship hit back-to-back kills to notch the 28-26 win.
Pacific took the narrow 7-4 lead on a Brittney Johnson (Jr., Beaverton, Ore.) service ace in the second set before the Bearcats came back to take the lead for good at 10-9 on an attack error. Willamette never led by more than three points until the 21-20 mark when the Bearcats won the last four points of the set, thanks in part to a kill and a block by Blankenship, for the 25-20 win.
What appeared to be a potential rout for the Bearcats in the third set became a close one late. Willamette took a 16-10 lead on Kathy Lee Glenn's service ace and still held a six-point lead, 22-16, on Blankenship's kill. The lead was 24-19 when Block served the Boxers to four straight winners. Braginsky-Ahloo had two kills in the run that brought the Boxers to within 24-23 before Nicole Mertens hit the winning kill for Willamette.
Tonight's match closed out a seven-match road trip for the Boxers. Pacific will open a string of eight home matches in their next nine dates on Saturday, hosting defending NWC champion Pacific Lutheran at 7 p.m.
