Volleyball Recovers From Slow Start For Four-Set Victory

Volleyball Recovers From Slow Start For Four-Set Victory

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Box Score

FOREST GROVE – Pacific recovered from a slow start in the first set to pick up the win in their Northwest Conference volleyball season opener Wednesday night, beating George Fox in four sets, 25-22, 21-25, 25-15, 25-18, at the Stoller Center.
 
The Boxers opened the match behind 7-2 before rallying to win the first set 25-22.  After giving up a close second set, Pacific (2-6, 1-0 NWC) used solid hitting and blocking to convincingly win the final two sets and win their second match of the season.
 
Marie Rewick (So., Honolulu, Hawaii) led Pacific offensively for the seventh consecutive match with 20 kills to go along with seven digs.  Una Areta (Fr., Kent, Wash.) came off the bench for 16 kills.  Emily Farnham (So., University Place, Wash.) added a double-double of 44 assist and 10 digs to go along with three blocks.  Becky Sheller (So., Gresham, Ore.) finished with 25 digs.  Pacific finished with its second best hitting performance of the year with a .190 percentage.
 
Erin Campbell was the only George Fox player with double-digit kills, finishing with a double-double of 22 kills and 16 digs.  Payton Shrum added 26 assists and Chelsea Wilson finished with 22 digs.  The Bruins (5-4, 0-1 NWC) finished hitting .129 on the night.
 
After starting the match in the 7-2 hole, Pacific scrambled back to tie the frame at 21-21 and then took the lead on back-to-back kills by Rewick.  A block by Farnham and Hannah Smargiassi (So., Tualatin, Ore.) put Pacific up 23-21, but Tiffany Burk replied with a kill of her own to come back within one.  Rewick came back with her seventh kill of the frame and a George Fox attack error gave Pacific the 25-22 win.
 
The second set was just about a mirror image of the first, with the Boxers jumping out to the 5-1 lead before the Bruins came back to take a 12-9 lead on kills by Campbell and Emily Carlson along with a Wilson service ace.  Pacific battled back to within one point on a number of occasions and were down 22-21 before Karlee Jo Sampson provided a pair of kills for the 25-21 victory to tie the match at one set apiece.
 
George Fox appeared to have the momentum in the third set, opening up the 3-0 lead on a pair of kills by Campbell, only to watch the Boxers go up 4-3 on a Farnham dump.  The lead was 8-7 before the Boxers rattled off a string of seven unanswered points, including two off of kills by Areta.  The Bruins never came closer than 10 points the rest of the way and McHolland had the final kill to finish off the 25-15 rout.
 
Things were close through the first half of the fourth set, with the set tied at 11-11 before the Boxers took the lead scoring five straight points.  Farnham and McHolland had kills in the run to help stake the Boxers to a 14-11 lead.  George Fox stayed within two points before the Boxers broke open a 21-15 lead on Sheller's service ace before Jamie Steach (Fr., Pasco, Wash.) served two aces for the 24-16 advantage.  McHolland and Areta finished the night off with a block for the win.
 
Pacific head north on Friday for their seventh road match of the year, heading to Tacoma to face No. 18 ranked Pacific Lutheran.  Match time is scheduled for 7 p.m.  George Fox will go to Tacoma on Saturday to take on No. 15 Puget Sound.
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