Boxers Bounce Back Twice, But Fall Short
Box Score
WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Pacific bounced back twice to force a deciding fifth set, but Whitman hit above .400 in the first, third and fifth sets to score the five-set win over the Boxers, 25-19, 18-25, 25-12, 15-25, 15-10, in Northwest Conference volleyball action at the Sherwood Center.
The Boxers (4-18, 3-11 NWC) performed well as a team, seeing three players finish with double-digit kills and two with double-doubles. Alexa Block (So., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) led the Boxers with 18 kills and 11 digs while Keahi Braginsky-Ahloo (Fr., Wahiawa, Hawaii) had 11 kills and 11 digs. Mariah McHolland (Fr., Renton, Wash.) had 11 kills, Danica Thompson (Fr., Sisters, Ore.) finished with 43 assists and Jade Thompson (So., Marysville, Wash.) had 23 digs.
Jillian Davis led Whitman (8-15, 5-9 NWC) with 17 kills and 19 digs. Carrie Cecil added 14 kills and Olivia Nielson added 10 kills. Taylor Aschenbrenner registered 42 assists.
Whitman jumped out to a 10-5 lead early in the first set, scoring off a Pacific ball handling error. The Missionaries extended the advantage to 20-13 on a Pacific attack error and 24-17 on a kill from Maddy Bell. Courtney Brewer closed out the frame with her kill to give Whitman the 25-19 win.
It was the Boxers who took the early second set lead, jumping out 7-3 off of three kills by Lychelle Roberts-Kirby (Fr., Kent, Wash.). The Missionaries bounced back after a timeout, tying it at 10-10 on a Pacific attack error. The Boxers never allowed Whitman to take the lead, and pulled away from a 20-18 advantage by scoring the last five points. Braginsky-Ahloo had three kills in the stretch to lead Pacific to the 25-18 win.
The Boxers hit just .054 in the third set, and the Missionaries capitalized for the easy win. They broke open a 7-7 tie by winning eight of the next nine points, two off of service aces, to take a 14-8 lead. Pacific did not win another point off their own serve as Whitman went up 24-11 on a block by Brewer and Cecil that capped a five-point run en route to the 25-12 win.
Pacific had streaks of their own to take the fourth set. A string of five points bolstered by three Whitman attack errors gave the Boxers an 8-3 lead, and another five-point string made it a 13-4 advantage. A subsequent six-point run, buoyed by three McHolland kills, opened up a commanding 19-5 advantage. A run by Whitman towards the end proved too little, too late in the 25-15 Pacific win.
The teams were tied 4-4 in the deciding set when Whitman rattled off a run of six straight points, two on Nielson kills, that put the Boxers well out of reach at 10-4.
Pacific finishes out the 2010 season next weekend with a pair of matches. The Boxers play at George Fox on Friday before hosting Puget Sound at the Stoller Center on Saturday afternoon.
