Boxers Win Fourth Straight, Bear Bruins In Four
Box Score
NEWBERG, Ore. – Pacific broke from their standard operating protocol to win their fourth straight match Friday night, needing just four sets instead of five to beat George Fox, 25-22, 15-25, 25-22, 25-15, in Northwest Conference volleyball action at the Wheeler Sports Center.
The Boxers received a match-high 13 kills from
Alexa Block (Sr., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) as Pacific won for the eighth time in their last 10 matches. It was also just the second match in the last five where the Boxers have played less than five sets. The win moved Pacific to 8-9 overall and maintained their tie for second place in the NWC with Puget Sound at 7-2.
Marie Rewick (Fr., Honolulu, Hawaii) added 11 kills and 15 digs for her seventh double-double of the season.
Megan Zablan (Fr., Ewa Beach, Hawaii) finished with 35 assists and
Becky Sheller (Fr., Gresham, Ore.) had 19 digs. Pacific finished with a .134 team hitting percentage.
Lucy Capron led George Fox (8-9, 6-4 NWC) with nine kills while Tiffany Burk finished with eight. Chelsea Wilson contributed 29 digs and Payton Shrum had a double-double of 27 assists and 10 digs. The Bruins hit .053 for the match and had only one set where they hit above .100.
Pacific never trailed in the opening set, building a big lead early before holding off a Bruins' rally late. The Boxers won 10 of the match's first 15 points and took an 11-4 lead on Rewick's second kill of the evening. George Fox pulled back to within 15-10 on a Pacific error and closed to within 20-18 on Kylee Adderson's service ace.
A block by McHolland and
Tiana Greenhalgh (Fr., Yucaipa, Calif.) made it 24-19, but a pair of Capron aces brought the Bruins back to within two points. Greenhalgh put the kill away on the final rally for the 25-22 win.
The second set proved to be a rout for the Bruins thanks to three large scoring runs. A four-point run early gave George Fox their first lead at 4-3. The advantage was still just a point when the Bruins went on a six-point run, punctuated by three Pacific errors, that opened up a 12-5 lead. Pacific scored the next four points, only to watch the Bruins score seven straight. Cassie Irwin's ace capped the run at 19-9 as the Bruins cruised to the 25-15 win.
The Boxers came out on top of a close third set with neither team leading by more than three points the entire way. The Bruins owned the 21-20 lead when an attack error started a run of four straight points for the Boxers. A trio of errors and a Block kill made it 24-21 before Block closed it out for the 25-22 win.
The fourth set was another 25-15 affair, but this time in favor of the visiting team. George Fox led 4-3 when an attack error opened up a seven-point Pacific run, buoyed by four total attack errors, that gave the Boxers the 10-4 lead. The Bruins came no closer than four points the rest of the way and Pacific won six of the final eight points in the frame to take the match.
Pacific returns home to the Stoller Center on Saturday as they host Willamette. Match time is 7 p.m. Pacific will take part in the Side Out Foundation's Dig Pink promotion on Saturday, a nationwide effort to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research.
