PARKLAND, Wash. – Lewis & Clark College volleyball fell to Pacific Lutheran University in three sets Friday at Olson Auditorium. The Lutes won the Northwest Conference match 25-11, 25-16, 25-17.
THE BASICS
Pacific Lutheran 3, Lewis & Clark 0 (25-11, 25-16, 25-17)
(Lewis & Clark 4-16, 1-12 NWC)
(Pacific Lutheran 18-4, 11-2 NWC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Senior
Kaitlyn Jensen tied for the team lead with five kills and added 12 digs, an ace and a block assist. Fellow senior
Isabel Meleán-Williams also recorded five kills and hit .200. Sophomore
Coco Otto finished with a team-high 14 digs. Senior
Ruby Kuerschner recorded 13 assists, eight digs and two aces.
Senior
HB Schuett contributed two kills, two aces and two block assists. First-year
Skyler Staab hit .250 with two kills and added a solo block and a block assist.
Pacific Lutheran scored the first three points of the opening set. A kill by junior
Morgan Armitage and a Lutes attack error brought Lewis & Clark within 8-4. Pacific Lutheran then scored nine straight points, eight on Madi Mulipola's serve, to lead 17-4. Trailing 24-8, the River Otters scored three consecutive points on kills by Jensen and Meleán-Williams and a Lutes attack error before Clare Freberg ended the set with a kill.
Jensen's kill tied the second set at 1-1. Pacific Lutheran answered with five straight points, and Mulipola later served for four consecutive points, including two aces, to make it 16-5. Lewis & Clark scored three straight points on a Schuett kill, a Schuett ace and a Staab block to cut the deficit to 19-10. Trailing 20-10, Lewis & Clark scored on a Jensen kill and consecutive aces by Kuerschner to make it 20-13. Jensen added a kill and an ace later in the set before Shaela Allen-Greggs ended it with a kill.
Kills by Meleán-Williams, Kuerschner and Armitage gave Lewis & Clark leads of 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3 in the third set. The Lutes scored four straight points on Mulipola's serve to lead 8-4. Staab answered with a kill, and Schuett and Meleán-Williams later combined on a block to bring the River Otters within one at 9-8. First-year
Lexi Musselwhite recorded a kill to cut the deficit to 10-9.
Pacific Lutheran extended its lead to 16-10. Jensen and Schuett combined on a block, and Jensen followed with a kill to make it 16-12. Musselwhite's second kill, off an assist from senior
Abbi Sanchez, made it 18-14. Lutes errors on three of the next four points cut the deficit to 20-17. Pacific Lutheran scored the final five points, including three aces, to end the match.
Alexis Eggert led Pacific Lutheran with nine kills and a .471 hitting percentage. Allen-Greggs added eight kills without an error. Ayre Takamoto recorded 27 assists, and Macy Matsushima finished with 20 digs.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Lewis & Clark's hitting percentage improved in each set, from -.116 in the first to .065 in the third.
- Sanchez recorded three assists and three digs in the third set.
- The River Otters finished with 49 digs and five aces.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark travels to the University of Puget Sound for a Northwest Conference match Saturday at 6 p.m.
