PORTLAND, Ore. – Lewis & Clark College won the second and fourth sets before falling to George Fox University 25-23, 19-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-8 in a Northwest Conference volleyball match Tuesday night at Pamplin Sports Center.
THE BASICS
George Fox 3, Lewis & Clark 2 (25-23, 19-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-8)
(Lewis & Clark 4-10, 1-6 NWC)
(George Fox 3-11, 1-6 NWC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Senior
Kaitlyn Jensen led the River Otters with 17 kills and a career-high 20 digs for her seventh career double-double. She hit .325 on 40 attempts and served a team-high four aces.
Senior
Isabel Meleán-Williams and first-year
Lexi Musselwhite added eight kills apiece. Junior
Morgan Armitage finished with four kills and two block assists. Senior
Ruby Kuerschner recorded 17 assists, three aces and eight digs. Sophomore libero
Coco Otto added 17 digs, three aces and four assists, and senior
HB Schuett served three aces.
Jensen served three consecutive aces as Lewis & Clark scored five straight points to turn a 6-4 deficit into a 9-6 lead in the first set. Meleán-Williams recorded four kills as Lewis & Clark built a 16-10 lead, and Otto's ace put the River Otters ahead 23-17. George Fox scored the final eight points to win the set 25-23.
Schuett served two aces during a three-point run that gave Lewis & Clark a 7-4 lead in the second set. The Bruins went ahead 15-14 for their first lead since 4-3. Meleán-Williams tied the score with a kill, and the teams were tied again at 16-16 and 18-18. Lewis & Clark then scored six consecutive points, including kills by Musselwhite, first-year
Skyler Staab and Jensen. Senior
Abbi Sanchez served the final five points of the run, and a George Fox service error gave Lewis & Clark a 25-19 set win.
The third set featured 12 ties and four lead changes. Jensen recorded two straight kills to give Lewis & Clark a 14-12 lead, and Kuerschner's kill put the River Otters ahead 21-18. George Fox scored seven of the final eight points and won the set 25-22 on a kill by Eden Cha.
Lewis & Clark scored the first three points of the fourth set on Kuerschner's serve. Schuett and Musselwhite combined for a block on the first point, and Kuerschner served an ace on the third. The Bruins took an 11-10 lead before the River Otters scored the next three points on a George Fox attack error, a kill by Schuett and a block by Schuett and Armitage. Jensen recorded kills to give Lewis & Clark leads of 21-17 and 22-18. Staab added a kill, Otto served an ace and Armitage recorded the final kill as Lewis & Clark won the set 25-20 to force a fifth set.
George Fox scored four consecutive points to take a 7-3 lead in the fifth set, including two aces by Gracie Bearden. Kills by Jensen and Armitage cut the deficit to 7-5. The Bruins scored five of the next six points before winning the deciding set 15-8.
Cha led George Fox with 16 kills and added four aces, 13 digs and three block assists. Bearden finished with 11 kills and 15 digs.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Lewis & Clark served 13 aces to George Fox's 10.
- Jensen finished one kill shy of tying her career high.
- Senior Kenzie Edwards dished out seven assists with seven digs
- Sanchez finished with six assists and eight digs.
- Otto's 17 digs were her most as a River Otter.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark travels to Salem to face Willamette University in a Northwest Conference match Saturday at 6 p.m.
