PORTLAND, Ore. – Lewis & Clark College volleyball forced a fifth set before falling 3-2 to Willamette University on Senior Night Friday at Pamplin Sports Center. The Bearcats won the Northwest Conference match 23-25, 25-19, 25-15, 23-25, 15-9.
The River Otters honored seniors
Kenzie Edwards,
Isabel Meleán-Williams,
HB Schuett,
Abbi Sanchez,
Kaitlyn Jensen,
Ainsley Mochrie and
Ruby Kuerschner after the match.
THE BASICS
Willamette 3, Lewis & Clark 2 (23-25, 25-19, 25-15, 23-25, 15-9)
(Lewis & Clark 4-19, 1-15 NWC)
(Willamette 11-11, 8-7 NWC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Jensen led Lewis & Clark with 14 kills and added 17 digs and three aces. Meleán-Williams added 13 kills and eight digs. Kuerschner recorded 18 assists, 14 digs and two aces, while Edwards finished with 15 assists, 10 digs and two aces.
Kuerschner finished her career ranked sixth in program history with 1,644 assists and second with 118 service aces.
Lewis & Clark overcame two late deficits to win the opening set. Trailing 6-4, the River Otters scored six consecutive points, five on Jensen's serve, to lead 10-6. Willamette led 20-17 before Lewis & Clark scored five straight points, four on Jensen's serve, to go ahead 22-20. The Bearcats answered with three consecutive points for a 23-22 lead. Meleán-Williams tied the score with a kill, Schuett followed with a kill and Mochrie served an ace to complete the 25-23 victory.
Jensen recorded two kills as Lewis & Clark opened a 4-1 lead in the second set. Later trailing 13-8, the River Otters scored seven of the next eight points. Schuett's ace tied the score at 14, and a Willamette attack error gave Lewis & Clark the lead. The Bearcats moved ahead 19-16 before kills by junior
Morgan Armitage and Meleán-Williams helped tie the set at 19. Willamette scored the final six points to even the match.
Willamette recorded 15 kills and hit .233 in the third set. The Bearcats led 15-6 before Lewis & Clark cut the deficit to 20-14. Jensen contributed two kills during that stretch, and first-years
Skyler Staab and
Lexi Musselwhite combined for a block. Willamette scored five of the final six points to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Lewis & Clark scored three straight points on Meleán-Williams' serve to take a 10-5 lead in the fourth set. Two aces by Chelsea Velez later put Willamette ahead 13-12. Meleán-Williams tied the score at 17 with a kill, then served an ace before Jensen added a kill for a 19-17 lead. Willamette tied the score at 22 before Lewis & Clark regained the lead, with a Musselwhite kill making it 24-22. A Willamette kill cut the lead to one before a Bearcats attack error sent the match to a fifth set. Jensen recorded six kills in the set, and Lewis & Clark hit .191.
Lexie Scott recorded kills for Willamette's first three points of the fifth set. Kills by Schuett and Meleán-Williams brought Lewis & Clark within 5-4, but Willamette scored the next four points. An Edwards ace cut the deficit to 9-6 before Willamette went on to close the match with a Scott kill.
Scott led Willamette with 17 kills. Tessa Reed added 15 kills, a .333 hitting percentage and four blocks. Velez recorded nine kills, five aces and 11 digs, and Dream Takemoto finished with 29 digs. Lylah Worsley recorded 24 assists.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Sophomore Coco Otto recorded 15 digs and six assists, and first-year Maya Doerr added 14 digs.
- Schuett hit .286 with five kills on 14 attacks and added four block assists and two aces.
- Musselwhite and Armitage each recorded six kills, and Musselwhite added three block assists.
- Sanchez recorded seven digs and two assists.
- Lewis & Clark held a 95-90 advantage in digs. Each team finished with seven blocks.
WHAT'S NEXT
The River Otters expect to return 11 players next fall.
