NEWBERG, Ore. - Elizabeth Anderson hammered home 16 kills and became the fourth player in George Fox University history to go over 400 blocks for a career with six in the match, leading the Bruins past the Whitworth University Pirates 3-1 (30-27, 32-34, 30-22, 30-17) in a Northwest Conference women's volleyball match Saturday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

Anderson began the evening with 395 blocks in four years and now has 401, trailing only Kim Reidel (481), Beth Davis (417), and Shelly Schultens (405). She is also eighth all-time at George Fox in kills with 891.

George Fox jumped ahead in game one 5-1 on consecutive kills by Anderson, Whitney Kolb, Jessica Morrison, and Natalie Pickett, then a service ace by Anderson, before Whitworth got going. The Pirates went ahead 10-9 on a kill by Sarah Rusch and stretched their lead to five points three times, the last at 23-18 on a kill by Cassie Moore. Morrison had three kills in a 6-0 Bruin run that put the home team ahead 24-23, but Moore tied it 24-24 with another spike. A Pirate attack error and kills by Pickett and Morrison put the Bruins ahead for good, and Jennifer Panico ended it with the Bruins' 20th kill of the game.

Game two was a cliffhanger with 12 ties, eight lead changes, and neither team holding more than a four-point lead. The Bruins had game point at 29-27 before kills by Rusch and Moore rescued the Pirates. George Fox had game point two more times and Whitworth once before a block by Randi Stephens and a service ace by Moore ended it in the Pirates' favor.

The Bruins again took an early 5-1 lead in game three before the Pirates battled back for a 6-6 tie. At 8-8, however, the Pirates committed back-to-back attack errors and the Bruins never trailed again, gradually building to the final eight-point margin at the end that came on a kill by Panico.

In game four, the Bruins got off to their third 5-1 start of the match, only to see the Pirates again reverse course and take an 11-9 lead on another winner by Rusch. However, from that point on, it was all Bruins. Two kills by Anderson and one each by Panico, Morrison, and Amy Batchelder keyed a 7-0 Bruin run for a 16-11 lead, and they upped it to double digits at 25-15 on a kill by Pickett. When another Pickett putaway ended the game, the Bruins had used a 21-6 run to close out the game and the match.

In addition to Anderson's 16 kills, Morrison finished with 13, Panico 12, and Pickett 10 for George Fox. The Bruins hit .147 while holding the Pirates to only .074. Batchelder had 47 assists, bringing her career total 3,076, which is third all-time at GFU. Defensively, Batchelder and Panico had 23 digs each, Jenna Dohren 22, and Sarah Burkey 11. The Bruins had 12 blocks, with Morrison and Pickett joining Anderson on the front line with four each.

Rusch led all hitters in the match with 19 kills for the Pirates, while Moore added 17 and Nikki Bardwell 10. Holly Ridings passed out 50 assists. Bethany Castilleja was everywhere on defense with 36 digs, including 11 in the first game, Moore had 22, Ridings 14, and Bardwell 12. Rusch also contributed on six of the Pirates' nine blocks.

Both teams play again Friday at 7:00 p.m. George Fox (9-8, NWC 4-6) visits 17th-ranked and league-leading Pacific Lutheran University, while Whitworth (9-10, NWC 4-6) returns home to entertain Willamette University.