Ciara Smith vs. George Fox 2015
Tyler Kanoa
3
Winner Pacific (Ore.) PAC 9-14, 6-9 NWC
2
George Fox GFU 7-16, 4-11 NWC
Winner
Pacific (Ore.) PAC
9-14, 6-9 NWC
3
Final
2
George Fox GFU
7-16, 4-11 NWC
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Pacific (Ore.) PAC 26 18 25 25 15 (3)
George Fox GFU 28 25 23 18 11 (2)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

Pacific's stunning comeback tops Bruins

NEWBERG, Ore. — Down two sets to zero on the road, Pacific rallied for a 3-2 volleyball victory over George Fox on Friday night at the Wheeler Sports Center, winning 26-28, 18-25, 25-23, 25-18, 15-11.

It was Pacific's eighth five-set match this season, and the second time that they have battled back from a 2-0 deficit to win. They are 3-5 in matches this season that have gone the limit.

The victory moved the Boxers to 6-9 in the Northwest Conference and to 9-14 on the year. The Bruins dropped to 4-11 in NWC action and to 7-16 overall. Pacific also defeated George Fox at home on October 9, that time in three sets.

Freshman Ciara Smith had a career-high 23 kills, hitting a sizzling .442 and had seven blocks. Emily Farnham had a season-best 56 assists and also had 12 digs. Marie Rewick added 14 kills and 19 digs while Hannah Herbert contributed 13 kills. Anna VanderWeyst led the Boxers with 24 digs and Lia Zablan added 22.

The Boxers snapped a four-match losing streak with the victory. But it certainly didn't look like that would be the case early on.

The Bruins won a wild first set 28-26, leading most of the match, including at 21-16. The Boxers rallied back each time and tied the match at 25-25 and 26-26 on kills by Smith. But the Bruins finished off the set with a Delaney Cruz kill to go up 1-0.

GFU jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the second set and also led at 15-7 before Pacific would begin the first of their many rallies on the night. A combination of Smith kills and Morgan Mendicino aces pulled the Boxers to within a point at 18-17 but the Bruins scored seven of the next eight points to win 25-18 and go up two sets to zero.

The third set was a back and forth tussle that was tied at 13-13 before a pair of kills by Herbert and then Rewick gave Pacific 23-20 lead. Two Smith put-aways would give the visitors a narrow 25-23 win and keep their hopes alive.

The momentum began to shift in the fourth set as Pacific led from start to finish. They led by as many as eight points (20-12) before closing the set out at 25-18.

In the wild fifth set, George Fox jumped out to a 5-2 lead but the Boxers turned the tide behind the serve of Rewick. The Boxers scored six straight points with the junior at the service line to take a 8-5 lead. Nonetheless, the Bruins would rally back themselves to tie the match at 11-11, setting up a exciting finish.

With Karissa Komo serving, the red and white fired off four straight points, including Komo's ace to end the match.

Danyle Dupray had 19 kills to lead the Bruins and Kelsea Meyers had 26 digs for the hosts.

Pacific will wrap up the 2015 season on Saturday night, hosting Puget Sound at 7 p.m. The Boxers will honor their seniors in a ceremony before the start of the match.
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