Box Score

NEWBERG, Ore. - Held to their lowest attack percentage in five years at minus -.080,  the George Fox University Bruins struggled offensively all night long and dropped a 3-0 decision (25-13, 25-22, 25-15) to the 19th-ranked Pacific Lutheran University Lutes in a Northwest Conference women's volleyball match Saturday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

George Fox managed only 16 kills in the three sets and made 25 errors in 113 attempts as the Pacific Lutheran defense collected 63 digs, made nine blocks, and served 13 aces.  PLU also struggled at times, hitting only .096 after entering the match with a .204 hitting percentage, but came up with 34 kills against 23 errors and used several long scoring stretches in each set to win the contest, avenging one of their two conference losses this season.

The Bruins took a quick 2-0 lead to open the match, but a pair of aces by Brenna Archibald sparked a 4-0 PLU run that gave the Lutes the lead for good.  Two 5-0 runs enabled the Lutes to build a 15-5 lead, and they upped it to 13 points at 23-10 after two more Archibald aces and a Bruin attack error.  A kill by Katy Tauscher ended the set.

PLU opened the second set with a 5-0 run and extended it to 9-1 on a block by Tauscher.  A pair of aces by Natalie Pickett ignited an 11-5 charge by the Bruins that brought them within two at 14-12, only to have the Lutes run the lead back up to eight at 22-14 on a kill by All-American Beth Hanna.  The Bruins scored six unanswered points, featuring two more aces by Pickett and kills by Jessica Morrison, Lyndsay Hovee, and Stephanie Kerr to climb within two at 22-20.  Hanna halted the comeback, however, with a kill and an ace, and a winner by Kelsie Moore closed out the set.

The Bruins showed some life at the start of set three, taking a 4-0 lead on a kill and a block by Pickett, a combination block by Pickett and Hovee, and a spike by Kristin Knaupp before a Hanna kill ended the streak.  George Fox remained in front until consecutive kills by Moore and a combo block by Moore and Erin Bremond gave the Lutes a 10-9 lead.  The Bruins tied it one last time at 11-11 on a putaway by Sarah Crossfield, but two aces by Sarah Beaver and two combo blocks by Bremond and Katlyn Kester fueled a 7-0 outburst that effectively gave PLU control.  Hanna ended the match with back-to-back aces.

Hovee's five kills topped the Bruins, and Ali Lefebvre had 10 assists.  Hovee picked up 16 digs and Jennifer Panico added 12.  Pickett served four aces and was in on four of the Bruins' six blocks. 

Hanna and Moore had 11 kills each for the Lutes, while Beaver passed out 24 assists.  Hanna made 19 digs and served five aces, Moore made 15 digs, and Archibald had 11 digs and four aces.  Bremond contributed to seven of the Lutes' nine blocks.

George Fox (11-9, NWC 5-5) heads for the road for its next three matches, starting Friday at Whitworth University at 7:00 p.m.  Pacific Lutheran (14-6, NWC 8-2), tied for first in the conference, heads for a showdown Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at the crosstown rival and NWC co-leader University of Puget Sound, which is ranked 16th.