Cal-Santa Cruz Box Score
Willamette Box Score

SALEM, Ore. - Completing a successful run through the Willamette University women's volleyball Tournament Saturday here at Cone Fieldhouse, the George Fox University Bruins pounded out victories over the University of California-Santa Cruz Banana Slugs 3-1 (30-23, 30-18, 27-30, 30-25) and the host Willamette Bearcats 3-1 (24-30, 30-18, 30-27, 30-17) to finish 3-0 in the event.

Against Santa Cruz, the Bruins took advantage of a meager .026 hitting percentage by the Slugs to break away from a 13-13 tie and win the first game. The last three Bruin points all came on their opponents' attack errors, while George Fox hit .114.

The Bruins sparkled on offense in the second game, hitting .286 to only .048 for the Slugs. A 9-0 run enabled the Bruins to take control early as they exploded from a slim 7-6 lead to 16-6 and never looked back.

Santa Cruz jumped ahead 14-7 in game three before the Bruins rallied and went ahead 27-25 on a service ace by Elizabeth Anderson. The Slugs bounced back to take the next five points, however, prevented the Bruins from ending the match early.

George Fox never trailed in game four but maintained a slim lead throughout. Back-to-back kills by Jennifer Panico gave the Bruins a 28-23 lead and a bit of breathing room, and they ended the match on a block by Anderson and Amy Batchelder.

Anderson had 13 kills, Natalie Pickett 12, and Panico 11 to pace the Bruins, while Batchelder passed out 42 assists. Jenna Dohren led the defense with 20 digs, aided by 10 each by Panico and Sarah Burkey. Anderson participated in every one of the Bruins' seven blocks.

Gilliam McGraw led the Slugs with 13 kills and Megan Wisniewski added 10. Amy Knight (ironically the maiden name of the Bruins' setter before she was married this summer!) had 44 assists. McGraw had 16 digs and Melinda Tom dug 12, while Jen Meyers was in on eight of the Slugs' 11 blocks.

In the Willamette match, a cluster of five attack errors in eight points by the Bruins enabled the host Bearcats to move from a 7-5 deficit to a 14-7 lead, and they maintained a comfortable margin to the end. Willamette out-hit George Fox .316 to .043 in that game.

The trend was reversed in game two as the Bruins improved to .310 while holding the Bearcats to a .048 mark. After taking an early 12-3 lead, George Fox kept the pressure on by recording 19 kills in the game.

The Bearcats took a quick 8-2 lead in game three before the Bruins got rolling again, reeling off six unanswered points, capped off by a pair of kills by Pickett. There were six more ties after that before the Bruins broke a 24-24 deadlock on a kill by Anderson and went on to secure the third game.

The Bruins left little to chance in game four, sizzling at a .370 attack pace while holding the Bearcats to a minus-.118 mark with only five kills and nine errors. The game was tied at 8-8 before a kill by Panico gave George Fox a lead it would never relinquish, and Anderson's kill for the final point was the largest margin in the game.

Panico led the Bruins with 15 kills, Anderson had 13, and Sarah Crossfield added 10. Batchelder handed out 53 assists. Panico made 20 digs, Dohren 14, and Carli Bowman 11. The Bruins hit .214 for the match to .096 for the Bearcats.

Kelley Lindstrom with 13 kills and Jessica Durham with 10 led Willamette, while Brittany Ashby had 31 assists. Jordyn Smith had 11 digs.

Now 3-0 on the season, the Bruins hope to continue their fine start when they head to Claremont, Calif., for the Pacific Coast Classic Friday-Saturday, Sept. 7-8. George Fox will play Principia College at 2 p.m. and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges at 4:15 p.m. Friday, and Haverford College at 10 a.m. and host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.