Missionaries Hit On All Cylinders To Knock Off Boxers In Finale
Box Score
FOREST GROVE – Pacific could not capture that come from behind magic that carried them the night before Saturday as the Boxers saw their season end with a three-set loss to Whitman, 25-18, 25-15, 25-18, in Northwest Conference volleyball action at the Stoller Center.
The Missionaries (11-12, 9-7 NWC) put together a good all-around match to beat the Boxers, hitting .259 for the match and finishing with nine blocks. The Boxers managed just .079 for the match and finished with just two team blocks.
With the loss, Pacific finishes the season with an 11-13 overall record and in third place in the NWC standings at 10-6.
Marie Rewick (Fr., Honolulu, Hawaii) led the Boxers with 11 kills.
Tiana Greenhalgh (Fr., Yucaipa, Calif.) had eight kills and
Alexa Block (Sr., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.), playing in her final match, finished with seven kills.
Megan Zablan (Fr., Ewa Beach, Hawaii) added 17 assists and
Becky Sheller (Fr., Gresham, Ore.) had 19 digs.
Jillian Davis led the Missionaries with 14 kill and an impressive .412 hitting percentage. Rachel Cline finished with a double-double of 30 assists and 10 digs to go along with four blocks while Hannah Linsenmayer finished with 16 digs. Olivia Nielson paced Whitman at the net with six blocks.
Pacific never led in the first set as the Missionaries bolted out to a 9-4 lead on Linsenmayer's service ace. The Boxers trailed 17-10 when they scored five straight points, two on Whitman attack errors, to come within 17-15. Pacific would not score off of their own serve the rest of the way as a kill by Davis closed out the 25-18 win.
The Boxers opened the second set with the brief 2-1 lead, but Whitman quickly turned the tide as Davis' kill gave the Missionaries a 6-4 lead. The Boxers stayed within three points before Whitman opened up the 19-13 advantage on a Pacific attack error. After Greenhalgh's kill made it 20-14, the Missionaries went on to score seven of the last eight points to score the 25-15 win.
The two teams contested a close third set until the Missionaries put together a string of six straight points to take a 5-4 lead from the Boxers and build a 10-5 advantage, thanks in part to three Davis kills. Pacific rebounded to come back within 14-12 on a pair of Whitman attack errors, but the Missionaries went back up 19-14 on a Pacific attack error. The Missionaries put the match out of reach with another four-point run late, ending on a Davis kill that made it a 23-15 lead en route to the 25-18 victory.
In addition to Block,
Jade Thompson (Sr., Marysville, Wash.) played in her final match, finishing with 10 digs. Both seniors were honored prior to the match.
