Box Score
PARKLAND, Wash. - Beth Hanna recorded 12 kills and three aces and Sarah Beaver had 35 assists and three aces to lead Pacific Lutheran to a 25-15, 25-20, 21-25, 25-19 Northwest Conference volleyball win over Pacific on Saturday night in Olson Auditorium.
With the win, coming in only their fifth home match of the season, the Lutes improve their overall record to 15-6 and their conference mark to 9-3, good for third place. Pacific is now 4-16 for the season and 3-9 in conference matches.
One night after sweeping aside Lewis & Clark with an impressive hitting display, the Lutes struggled against a scrappy Pacific team that recorded 10 team blocks and a total of 63 digs.
Lychelle Roberts-Kirby (Fr., Kent, Wash.) had eight block assists, while
Jade Thompson (So., Marysville, Wash.) held down the back line with 17 digs. Still, PLU's performance was good enough to get the victory.
With the first set tied 3-3, the Lutes scored nine of the next 10 points, three on Pacific ball handling errors, to firmly take control. Kelsie Moore's kill made it 20-10, and the Lutes finished off the set on a kill by Allison Wood. Moore finished the first set with three of the Lutes' 11 kills.
The visiting Boxers took an early 3-0 lead in the second set, but the Lutes rallied to tie the score at 7-7 on Moore's service ace. They kept the momentum going, building a 15-10 lead on a Pacific ball handling error. That brought about a Pacific timeout, and the Boxers responded by getting back into the match, trailing 17-15 before the Lutes once again opened the advantage on the way to the five-point win. Wood and Hanna both had four of PLU's 15 kills in the set, while
Alexa Block (So., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.), who went without a kill in the opening set, drilled four in the second set on her way to a match-high 14.
Block kept it going in the third set and carried her team to victory with seven kills and only one error in 13 swings. While Pacific hit only .103 in the set, PLU struggled with a -.054 attack percentage in the same set. The Boxers went on a 7-0 run fueled by four Lutes attack errors, to take a 14-7 advantage, and they built a lead as big as eight point on two occasions. After PLU closed its deficit to 23-21, Roberts-Kirby recorded a kill to regain the momentum, and the set ended on a PLU attack error.
In the fourth set, the Lutes turned it around on the offensive side to close out the match. Moore rebounded from a tough third set to pound out five of the Lutes' 14 kills, and defensively the Lutes recorded 21 digs to keep the Pacific offense at bay.
The Lutes finished with a .142 attack percentage, with Wood and Moore both chipping in nine kills to the attack. Blair Bjorkman led the team wtih 17 digs and Rose Mattson had three service aces.
Pacific hit .106 in the match, and Block was the only player close to double figures in kills.
Danica Thompson (Fr., Sisters, Ore.) had 32 assists and eight digs, and Block added 11 digs to her match totals.
Pacific continues a four-match road trip next weekend as they head head to face the eastern Washington schools. The Boxers plat at Whitworth on Friday and Whitman on Saturday.
