FOREST GROVE, Ore.- The Pacific University Volleyball team went to battle with the Loggers of Puget Sound on Friday night in front of a packed house in the Stoller Center. The Boxers showed incredible resilience in the five-set contest, prevailing 3-2 after rallying from behind in the decisive fifth set.
The Boxers came out hot in set one taking the set 25-17. They collected 12 kills in comparison to the Loggers seven, with a hitting percentage of .278.
Even though the Boxer offense tallied more kills in sets two and three, they fell 25-20 in consecutive sets.
Set four proved to be an action-packed set for both teams as each collected an impressive 16 kills in the set. The Boxers jumped out to an early 12-6 lead, but the Loggers clawed their way back. Pacific closed the set with two big kills from Elika Unti (Castro Valley, CA) and Mara Murphy (Salt Lake City, UT).
The deciding set was a battle of serving and passing. Behind the service line, the Boxers put a lot of pressure on the Loggers which forced them into seven hitting errors in the set. Claire Stipsits (Ontario, Canada) sent home the final kill of the match in a dominating fashion to capture the deciding set, 16-14.
Carissa Ramirez made an appearance in the final two sets of the match, and proved to be a difference maker for the Boxers as she collected four kills, one block, and hit .500.
The Boxer offense had 4 players that collected double digit kills on the night. Setter Shaianne Cambra (Kapolei, HI) was responsible for the success of the Boxer offense as she dished out a career high 52 assists. Murphy tallied a team high 17 kills while Stipsits chipped in a career high 16 kills. Stipsits posted her first career double-double as she also added in 19 digs on the evening. Unti and Chloe Elmore (Salem, OR) collectd 13 and 10 kills, respectively.
Haley Walz (Tuscon, AZ) had a great night as the Boxer libero and tallied a match high 21 digs. Cambra and freshman defensive specialist Danica Nelson (Folsom,CA) dug 14 balls in the match in addition to Walz.
The Fifth Set
The fifth set was one to remember as both teams went back-and-forth, trading points to an 8-8 score at the halfway point. Two quick points from the Loggers would force a Pacific timeout and they would late extend their lead to 13-10. The Boxers would begin their comeback, rattling off four straight points to take a 14-13 lead to get to match point.
Puget Sound evened things up at 14-14 before an attack error gave Pacific match point once again. Cambra delivered another wonderful assist and Stipsits sealed the victory by slamming down her 16th and final kill.
The Boxers will be back in action tomorrow night as they travel to Portland, Ore. to face the Pioneers of Lewis and Clark College at 6 p.m.
For the latest information on Pacific Athletics, make sure to check out GoBoxers.com. You can also find the Boxers on social media at @GoBoxers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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