Box ScoreFOREST GROVE – Pacific kept Pacific Lutheran's hands full in the opening set Saturday night, but in the end the No. 16 ranked Lutes used solid defense to put away the Boxers in three sets, 25-23, 25-17, 25-16, in Northwest Conference volleyball action at the Stoller Center.
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The Boxers (5-9, 1-5 NWC) rallied from as much as five points down to surged to a 19-14 lead before the Lutes came back late to take a close first set. After that scare, the Lutes left little to chance in the second and third sets. Defense ruled the day as the Lutes finished with six blocks and 77 digs. Five different PLU players finished in double-digit digs.
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Haley Bedell (Jr., Bothell, Wash.) led Pacific offensively with 10 kills while
Una Areta (So., Kent, Wash.) finished with nine.Â
Emily Farnham (Jr., University Place, Wash.) finished with 25 assists while
Lia Zablan (So., Ewa Beach, Hawaii) had 11 digs. Pacific hit .068 as a team, which included a high of .167 in the opening set.
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Lucy Capron led Pacific Lutheran (12-3, 5-1 NWC) with 14 kills and 21 digs while Kylai Cooley added 11 kills. Samantha North also had a double-double of 36 assists and 13 digs.
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Pacific Lutheran jumped out to a 5-1 lead thanks in part to a pair of Amy Wooten kills. Â Pacific charged back, taking an 11-10 lead on
Hannah Smargiassi's (Jr., Tualatin, Ore.) service ace and later built a 19-14 lead on Areta's kill. The Lutes stayed with it, though, and tied the set at 23-23 on North's kill. An ace and an attack error allowed PLU to escape with the 25-23 win.
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Pacific started behind in the second set before coming back to take a 6-4 lead on an Areta service ace. The Lutes came back thanks to a six-point run, fueled by a pair of Cooley kills, for a 12-9 lead. The Boxers came back to within 13-12 on Bedell's service ace, but would come no closer as the Lutes extended their lead to 20-14 on Capron's kill en route to the eventual 25-17 win.
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The Lutes allowed the Boxers just three points off of their own serve as controlled the third set. PLU jumped out to the 12-6 lead on a block by Ariana Judson and Lauren McClung before the Boxers rallied to come within 13-11 thanks to a string of three PLU attack errors. The Boxers were still within two at 18-16 before the Lutes put together a seven-point run to close the match.
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Pacific takes to the road for their next two matches, playing at Linfield on Friday and Willamette on Saturday. Pacific Lutheran returns home for a Wednesday match against Willamette.
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