FOREST GROVE, Ore.- The Pacific University volleyball team fell to Pacific Lutheran in a five-set thriller in their final match of the season, 25-23, 15-25, 20-25, 25-13, 14-16.
The Boxers and Lutes battled in a tight first set where the Boxers were victorious with a score of 25-23. The Boxers were able to out score the Lutes in the first set with their 14 kills to the Lutes 11.
Pacific's offense struggled to find a rhythm in set two as they fell 15-25 and as they posted nine kills in the set.
Set three proved to be another battle that could go either way. Although the Boxers hit .263 in the set, the Lutes hit an impressive .312. The set was tied up at 18, but the Boxers were unable to tame the Lutes offense in the final points of the set.
The Boxers did not hang their heads after losing two straight sets, and came out with a vengeance in set four. The Boxer offense came to life in the fourth set as they racked up a match high 14 kills in the set behind the setting of Emily Cheavtharn. The Pacific attackers only made three errors in the set for the second set in a row.
The Fifth Set
The Boxers lost the first point of the set, but quickly responded with a monstrous kill from Mara Murphy. The Boxers then jumped to a 4-3 lead off a Danica Nelson ace and two more kills from Murphy. Behind the four straight points with Murphy behind the service line, the Boxers found themselves up 9-5 in the decisive set. The Lutes then began to climb their way back as they tied it up 11-11. Then the Lutes made two consecutive errors which forced them into a time as the Boxers were up 13-11. The Lutes then capitalized on two errors from the Boxers after the timeout, and they tied it up 13-13. Elika Unti then came up with a kill to make it match point for the Boxers. Unfortunately the Boxers were unable to close out the shortened set, and fell 14-16 in a hard fought battle.
By The Numbers
The Boxers had three players that tallied double digit kills on the night. Pacific was led offensively by Mara Murphy (Freshman / Salt Lake City, Utah) who posted a match high 22 kills. Allie Brown (Sophomore/ Oregon City, Oregon) chipped in 15 of her own while hitting a hot .350 on the night.
Setters Shaianne Cambra (Junior/ Kapolei, Hawaii) and Emily Cheavtharn (Sophomore/Salem, Oregon) talled 31 and 15 assists respectively as they split time in the setter position throughout the match.
Carissa Ramirez (Senior/ Hillsboro, Oregon) collected a career high six blocks on the evening while Chloe Elmore (Senior/ Salem, Oregon) added four of her own. Haley Walz (Senior/ Tucson, AZ) led all players with 38 digs. Danica Nelson (Freshman/Folsom, California) added in 15 on the night while Murphy and Elmore added 11 and 10, respectively.
The Boxers finish the season 8-12 overall, with an 8-8 record in conference play. Pacific finished tied for fourth in the Northwest Conference standings.
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