10/6 - LINFIELD 3, GEORGE FOX 2: Wildcats Win More Two-Point Games Than Bruins

Box Score

NEWBERG, Ore. - In a match so tight that all five games were decided by the closest margin possible - two points - the Linfield College Wildcats remained in contention for the Northwest Conference title with a 3-2 win (30-32, 30-28, 30-28, 29-31, 15-13) over the George Fox University Bruins in women's volleyball Saturday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

Linfield began the night tied with the University of Puget Sound for second place in the conference, two games behind first-place Pacific Lutheran University, and kept pace with the league leaders by defeating their Yamhill County counterparts for the fourth straight time.

Game one featured 12 ties and nine lead changes. Linfield's largest lead was 10-5 after a 7-0 run keyed by three straight service aces by Stephanie Purser, while the Bruins twice led by three, the last at 27-24 on a kill by Amy Batchelder, but the Wildcats reeled off five straight points to go up 29-27. After battling back to tie, the Bruins fell behind 31-30, but scored three straight to win on a kill by Jennifer Panico, an ace by Elizabeth Anderson, and a kill by Natalie Pickett.

George Fox jumped out to a 6-0 lead in game two, sparked by a pair of Jennifer Morrison kills, but the Wildcats recovered and took a 24-16 lead on a putaway by Emily Vuylsteke. A 10-2 run, capped by both a kill and a block by Anderson, brought the Bruins to a 26-26 tie, but a kill by Kelsey French and two Bruin attack errors gave the visitors a three-point lead. Molly Taylor's kill ended the game and tied the match 1-1.

Game three had 14 ties, seven lead swaps, and neither team had more than a four-point lead. The Wildcats took the lead for good 25-24 on a kill by Lisa Brocard and stretched it to 28-24 before the Bruins closed within a point at 29-28 on a Morrison spike. Taylor then nailed the game-winner again for the Wildcats.

The Bruins maintained a lead for most of the first half of game four, holding as much as a four-point lead four times, the last at 14-10 on a Morrison kill. Linfield out-scored the Bruins 16-8 from that point on and went up 26-22, only to have George Fox come back to tie it 27-27 on yet another Morrison kill. Vuylsteke hammered one down for a 28-27 Linfield lead, but the Wildcats gave it away with four attack errors in the next five points, evening the match.

In the deciding game, George Fox broke a 4-4 tie with a 6-1 run that featured a pair of kills by Batchelder for a 10-5 lead, and it appeared the Bruins might pull off the upset. The Wildcats rallied, however, with a 9-2 run that included two kills each by Katelyn Baker and Vuylsteke. Sarah Crossfield gave the Bruins a shot with a winner that cut the Linfield lead to 14-13, but Baker, who is ninth nationally in kills per game, crushed the home team hopes with a final kill.

Defense was in vogue on this evening, as the Bruins held the conference's top hitting percentage team (.250) to nearly half its average at .132, while the Wildcats kept the Bruins to a .110 mark. Many of the errors came at the net, where the Bruins recorded 17 blocks in the match and the Wildcats 12. Linfield picked up 126 digs and George Fox 118. With every game going the distance, there were 513 attack attempts in all (258 for Linfield, 255 for George Fox).

Anderson with 16 kills and Morrison with 14 led the Bruins, while Batchelder passed out 52 assists. Jenna Dohren had a match-high 33 digs, Panico added 31, and Batchelder had 17. Anderson was in on nine of the Bruins' blocks, Morrison on eight, and Pickett on seven.

Baker led all hitters with 21 kills, French added 17, Taylor 14, and Vuylsteke and Brocard 12 apiece. Purser handed out 62 assists. Rachael Rahn led six Wildcats in double figures in digs with 32, followed by Baker with 30, Meghan Flink 15, Hannah Veley 14, Purser 13, and Vuylsteke 10. Vuylsteke had seven blocks and Taylor five.

George Fox (8-7, NWC 3-5) remains at home next weekend against the NWC teams from eastern Washington, starting with Whitman College on Friday at 7:00 p.m. Linfield (11-6, NWC 6-2) visits Willamette University Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.