Loggers Win Battle Of Second Place, Sweep Boxers In Three
Box Score
TACOMA, Wash. – The battle between the Northwest Conference's two second place teams showed how far Pacific volleyball has come this season, but also how far they still have to go.
After a slow start, the Boxers performed well against No. 15 Puget Sound, but the Loggers held the upper hand throughout as they completed the three-set sweep, 25-18, 25-18, 25-16, in volleyball action at Memorial Fieldhouse.
The Loggers (15-5, 9-3 NWC) opened the match by scoring the first seven points, and the Pacific offense never seemed to fully recover. Pacific hit .115 for the match, led by a 10-kill performance by
Alexa Block (Sr., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.).
Mariah McHolland (Jr., Renton, Wash.) had six blocks,
Megan Zablan (Fr., Ewa Beach, Hawaii) finished with 21 assists and
Becky Sheller (Fr., Gresham, Ore.) added 17 digs. The loss dropped the Boxers (9-11, 8-4 NWC) into third place in the NWC standings.
Jackie Harvey was the only Puget Sound player with double-digit kills, finishing with a double-double of 14 kills and 10 assists. Danielle Westerman finished with nine kills and a .389 hitting percentage. Jenni Brehove had a double-double of 32 assists and 13 digs while Marissa Flourant had 17 digs.
Puget Sound used two Pacific attack errors and a pair of Brehove service aces to open up the commanding 7-0 advantage to begin the first set. The Boxers came back to within 8-4 on a block by Block and McHolland, but would not be within less than five points the rest of the way. Harvey's kill made it a 17-7 lead while Andie Kenneally's service ace brought the Loggers' lead to 24-12.
A kill by McHolland started a six-point Pacific run that was bolstered by three blocks in a row, two from McHolland and
Hannah Herbert (Fr., Hillsboro, Ore.), but Maddie Goral closed it out for the Loggers at 25-18.
Pacific opened the second set with a 5-1 lead thanks to a pair of Logger service errors, but Puget Sound rallied to tie the frame at 9-9 on a kill from Westerman. The Boxers stayed in it until Nicolette Reynaud's kill opened up a six-point run for the Loggers, buoyed by two Christina Chun service aces and two Harvey kills, that made it a 22-17 advantage as Puget Sound went on to the 25-18 win.
The Boxers again opened with the lead in the third set, going up 5-2 on Block's kill. Puget Sound bounced right back, tying the set at 8-8 on a Pacific attack error. The Loggers then went on a six-point run to build the 14-9 lead thanks in part to a pair of Florant service aces. Pacific would win just one more point off their own serve with a pair of Pacific errors closing out the 25-16 frame.
Pacific continues a four-match road trip with a match Wednesday at Linfield before closing the away portion of the NWC schedule on Friday at Pacific Lutheran.
