PORTLAND, Ore. – Lewis & Clark College volleyball opened Northwest Conference play with a 25-17, 25-18, 25-17 sweep over Pacific University on Tuesday night at Pamplin Sports Center.
THE BASICS
Lewis & Clark 3, Pacific 0
(Lewis & Clark 4-4, 1-0 NWC)
(Pacific 1-7, 0-1 NWC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Senior
Kaitlyn Jensen led Lewis & Clark with nine kills and 14 digs while hitting .231.
Fellow senior
Isabel Meleán-Williams added eight kills, two service aces and two block assists for a team-high 11 points.
First-year
Lexi Musselwhite recorded five kills without an error and added three block assists.
Junior
Morgan Armitage contributed five kills, including the final two points of the match.
Senior
HB Schuett posted four kills, two service aces and a match-high five block assists.
Seniors
Ruby Kuerschner and
Kenzie Edwards each distributed 12 assists. Kuerschner served three aces, while Edwards added a team-high five aces and eight digs.
Sophomore libero
Coco Otto matched Jensen with 14 digs, while fellow sophomore
Izzy Faulkner added six.
Lewis & Clark took control of the first set with a six-point run that turned a 4-3 lead into a 10-3 advantage and forced a Pacific timeout. Edwards served two aces during the run, while Jensen and Armitage added kills. Kuerschner later served five consecutive points to extend the lead to 20-8, with Meleán-Williams supplying two kills. Pacific scored three straight points, but Lewis & Clark closed the set 25-17 on a block by Schuett and Armitage.
Pacific answered in the second set with four consecutive points to tie the score at 6 after trailing 6-2. Lewis & Clark regained the lead at 7-6, and a Kuerschner ace later extended the advantage to 12-8.
Kuerschner added another ace late in the set to give Lewis & Clark a 23-17 lead. Meleán-Williams followed with a kill before Musselwhite ended the set with a kill for a 25-18 win. Meleán-Williams recorded four of her eight kills in the set.
The third set stayed close early before Lewis & Clark scored five consecutive points to take an 8-4 lead, with Edwards serving two more aces. Pacific used a four-point run on Isabelle Darnell's serve to cut the deficit to 20-15 and force a Lewis & Clark timeout. Armitage recorded three kills late in the set, including the final two points, as the River Otters closed out the match with a 25-17 win.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Lewis & Clark earned its first sweep of a Northwest Conference opponent since a 3-0 win at Whitman on Oct. 29, 2022.
- Lewis & Clark outhit Pacific .181 to .009 and finished with six total blocks to Pacific's three.
- The River Otters served 12 aces. Edwards led the team with five, Kuerschner added three, and Meleán-Williams and Schuett each had two.
- Lewis & Clark won its NWC home opener for the first time since Sept. 24, 2021, when it defeated George Fox 3-1.
WHO'S NEXT
The River Otters travel to Walla Walla, Washington, on Friday for a 7 p.m. match against Whitman.
