Box ScoreFOREST GROVE – After being away from their home court for three weeks, Pacific was the recipient of positive energy in the Stoller Center Saturday night as the Boxers took a three-set Northwest Conference volleyball sweep from Lewis & Clark, 25-15, 25-17, 25-21.
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The Boxers (5-5, 1-1 NWC) had one of their best offensive nights of the season, hitting .228 with 38 kills and an impressive eight blocks.Â
Haley Bedell (Jr., Bothell, Wash.) finished with 15 kills to go along with five digs and block to lead Pacific.Â
Una Areta (So., Kent, Wash.) added 10 kills and three blocks, with three kills and a block coming in a critical run in the third set.Â
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Emily Farnham (Jr., University Place, Wash.) added 34 assists and
Lia Zablan (So., Ewa Beach, Hawaiii) finished with 18 digs.Â
Kelly Wahl (Fr., Richland, Wash.) was big at the net with four blocks while
Hannah Smargiassi (Jr., Tualatin, Ore.) and
Hannah Herbert (Jr., Hillsboro, Ore.) each had three blocks.
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Kataleya Milan led Lewis & Clark (6-5, 0-2 NWC) with nine kills as the Pioneers hit .072 on the night. Ali Carleton added eight kills, Vanessa Hall had 15 assists and Alexe Navarro had 10 digs.
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Farnham provided an idea of how the night would play out, opening the match with two aces as the Boxers took a 3-0 lead to open the first set. Pacific extended their lead to 11-5 on a block by Smargiassi and Areta, but the Pioneers came back to within 12-10 on a Pacific attack error. Three attack errors fueled a five-point run that pushed the advantage to 18-12 and a string of three more errors paced a four-point that made it a 23-15 set as the Boxers cruised to the win.
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Lewis & Clark pushed Pacific early in the second set, using a five-point run to take a 7-4 lead. The Boxers came right back to tie things at 9-9 on a Wahl kill and bolted out to the 13-9 advantage on a Bedell kill. The Pioneers kept things close and trailed by a 21-17 margin before the Boxers used kills by Bedell and Areta to pace a four-point run to close the frame.
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Pacific never trailed in the third set and opened up the 9-2 lead on a solo block by Areta. The seven-point advantage held until late, when the Pioneers rallied to come back within 21-20 on a block by Brigitte Russo and Tessa Belanger. Pacific would take the serve back on a kill by Bedell and used a block and a kill by Herbert to finish the sweep.
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After playing their only home match of September, Pacific returns to the road for the eastern Washington trip next weekend. The Boxers play at Whitman on Friday and at Whitworth on Saturday. Lewis & Clark is home next Friday against Linfield.
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