Una Arrives, But Boxers Fall In Three To Missionaries

Una Arrives, But Boxers Fall In Three To Missionaries

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FOREST GROVE – The arrival of Una Areta (Fr., Kent, Wash.) in the Pacific offense was not enough to lift Pacific to their second straight home victory Friday night as the Boxers fell in three sets to the Missionaries, 25-18, 25-20, 26-24, in Northwest Conference volleyball action at the Stoller Center.
 
The freshman outside hitter posted career numbers in a match that saw her pressed into additional service after starter Marie Rewick (So., Honolulu, Hawaii) left the match with an apparent knee injury in the first set.  Areta finished the night with 19 kills, six digs and two blocks with a .286 hitting percentage.
 
Areta's performance was the bright spot in a match where Whitman (5-11, 3-0 NWC) seemed to be hitting all cylinders.  The Missionaries finished with a .210 team hitting percentage on the evening and limited the Boxers to .114. 
 
Mariah McHolland (Sr., Renton, Wash.) added eight kills for the Boxers (2-8, 1-2 NWC).  Jamie Steach (Fr., Pasco, Wash.) had 22 assists in her fifth start of the season while Becky Sheller (So., Gresham, Ore.) finished with 11 digs.
 
Shae Kanakaole was the only Whitman player with double-digit kills, finishing with 10 and a .400 hitting percentage.  Rachel Cline had 12 assists in the Missionaries;' two-setter system while Hannah Linsenmayer had 19 assists.
 
Pacific rebounded from dropping the first two rallies to tie the first set, but four straight winners, two on Kanakaole kills, gave Whitman the momentum they needed to pull ahead for the win.  The Missionaries made it a 17-10 advantage on Natalia Zea's kill before Areta brought the Boxers with 20-16.  A pair of errors handed Whitman their final two points in the 25-18 win.
 
The Boxers found themselves in a larger hole in the second set, falling behind 10-4 on Rachel Cline's kill.  Pacific clawed back to within 19-17 on a Whitman attack error before Abby Seethoff served Whitman to two winners to put the visitors back up 22-17 before rolling to the 25-20 win.
 
After starting the third set behind, the Boxers used an early four-point run to take a 5-3 lead on the first of Areta's seven third frame kills.  The lead did not last long as a string of four straight errors put Whitman ahead 9-7.  The Missionaries held as much as a six-point lead before the Boxers rallied to tie the set at 22-22 on Areta's service ace.  The Boxers had set point at 24-23, but the Missionaries won the final three points, two on Pacific errors, to close out the match.
 
Pacific is back in action on Saturday, hosting Whitworth at 5 p.m.  A live video webcast of the match will be available at GoBoxers.com.  Whitman will close their Willamette Valley road trip at George Fox.
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