NEWBERG, Ore. - In a match that featured an extreme reversal of fortune, the George Fox University Bruins used a strong offense to win the first two games, only to have the visiting Pacific University Boxers roar back to win the rest for a 3-2 victory (23-30, 28-30, 30-11, 30-19, 15-9) in Northwest Conference women's volleyball Wednesday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym. In taking the first two games, George Fox scored 33 kills and out-hit Pacific .229 to .097. Bouncing back in the final three games, however, the Boxers held a 42-18 edge in kills and out-hit the Bruins .323 to .000.

Pacific took a quick 5-0 lead in game one before the Bruins got untracked and fought back to a 6-6 tie. There were nine more ties thereafter, the last at 21-21, before the Bruins took the lead for good on a Boxer set error and went on a 9-2 run to end the game.

Game two, although the Bruins out-hit the Boxers .273 to .087, was a tight one that featured 13 ties, including one on every number from 7-7 through 16-16. The Bruins scored three straight points to break a 26-26 tie with a Boxer attack error and kills by Elizabeth Anderson and Jennifer Panico, and ended the game with another winner by Anderson.

The fortunes changed quickly with the onset of game three. Pacific took a 3-0 lead on a pair of kills by Jill Peacock around one by Caitlin Gollehon, and built it to 12-3 as Alyssa Finn served six winning points in a row. The Boxers took their first double-digit lead at 19-9 on a service ace by Anela Iseke, and closed out the game with an 11-2 run. The Boxers hit .414 in the game to a minus -.114 by the Bruins.

In game four, it was Sarah Braun's turn to serve seven winners in a row as the Boxers took a 13-6 lead and upped it to 16-7 on a Joanna Delanty kill. The Bruins threw a scare into the Boxers with a 9-2 run that brought them within a pair at 18-16, only to see the Boxers take the next five points in a row to re-establish control. A 6-0 run, capped by an Iseke kill, ended the game and evened the match.

Another Iseke winner snapped a 6-6 tie in the fifth and deciding game, and the Boxers used a 9-3 run to close out the game and the match, ending it with a 4-0 streak that was capped by a winning block by Gollehon and Kayleen Mitchell. The Boxers hit .562 in the final game, with 10 kills and only one error, while the Bruins struggled to a minus -.059 percentage.

Whitney Kolb led the Bruins with 14 kills and a .333 hitting percentage, Panico had 13, and Anderson 12, while Amy Batchelder passed out 44 assists. Panico and Sarah Burkey spearheaded the Bruin defense with 17 digs each, Batchelder added 11, and Anderson had 10. Cassandra Woods contributed seven blocks to the Bruins' total of nine.

Peacock had a match-high 18 kills for the Boxers, with Delanty and Melissa Dunn contributing 15 each and Gollehon 12. Iseke handed out 55 assists. Finn made 37 digs, Dunn 22, and Erica Drake 14. Gollehon and Mitchell had four assists each. The Boxers finished with a .206 hitting percentage to .111 for the Bruins.

The Bruins dropped their third straight match, falling to 9-11 overall and 4-9 in the conference. The Boxers, one of the hottest teams in the conference, won their fifth in a row to improve to 13-7 overall and 8-5 in the league.

George Fox visits Willamette University Friday and Pacific goes to Linfield College Saturday, both starting at 7:00 p.m.