Ellie Parker (46 assists, 22 digs) and
Morgan Mendicino (19 kills, 19 digs) each had a double double in the 24-26, 25-23, 16-25, 25-17 11-15 loss to No. 10 Pacific Lutheran on Friday night in Tacoma.
The Boxers (7-4, 1-1 NWC) rose to the occasion as they were facing their second top 10 opponent of the young season. Pacific managed to out hit PLU by .113 to .107 in the five-set match. The Boxers had won the last two meetings at PLU before tonight's five-set loss to the Lutes.
The Lutes (8-1, 1-0 NWC) recorded 15 blocks as a team in the win including seven each by Danielle Skibiel and Mackenzie Harris to lead Pacific Lutheran. Skibiel and Harris each had double-digit kills with 13 and 10, respectively. Chloe Epker added 12 kills and Isabella Zubrod had a double double with 27 assists and 11 digs in the victory.
To begin the match, the tone for the match was set as the two teams traded the first 14 points as the set was tied at 7. The Boxers scored the next two points and remained in front until a 4-0 run by the host Lutes after a timeout put PLU ahead 18-17. The see-saw affair went back and forth that saw the set tied on five more occasions until a 3-0 run to end the set by the Lutes. The run was the difference as PLU took the opening set by a 26-24 margin.
The second set went back and forth with the score tied on seven occasions. The Boxers closed out the set, scoring three of the final four points for a 25-23 win.
Milana Ivkovic had four kills to lead the Boxers in the set. The third set saw PLU build a 10-4 lead and the Boxers managed to cut the deficit to four on a pair of occasions. The Boxers came back in the fourth set and forced a fifth set on the strength of an 8-1 run. Mendicino sparked the run with three kills and the strong service game of
Karlee Duncan and
Haley Walz.
The fifth set saw the Lutes race out to an early 7-3 lead. Then, the Boxers managed to cut the deficit to 9-6 on a
Bailey Servoss kill. PLU answered the spurt by Pacific, scoring the next four points for a 13-6 lead. Three-straight points by Pacific prompted a PLU time out but the Boxers would get as close as three on a pair of occasions until a match-deciding kill by Harris.
Next, Pacific will host Whitman on Friday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. at the Stoller Center.
