Box Score

NEWBERG, Ore. - In a defensive slugfest between Yamhill County rivals, Jennifer Panico's 39 digs, a George Fox University record since rally scoring began in 2001, lifted the Bruins to a hard-fought 3-1 win (25-20, 25-23, 15-25, 25-23) over the Linfield College Wildcats in Northwest Conference women's volleyball Friday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

The defensive efforts by both teams - George Fox had 97 digs while Linfield had 92 - kept the ball in play for numerous long rallies and resulted in lower hitting percentages than might have been expected in a closely-contested match.  The Bruins, who were hitting .143 coming in, managed only a .054 mark with 46 kills but 36 errors.  The Wildcats, who entered the evening seventh nationally in kills (13.00 per game) and 22nd in hitting percentage (.251), were held to 36 kills and 28 errors for a .045 mark.

Panico's 39 digs topped the previous Bruin record in a rally-scoring match of 37 by Nicole Bostic in a 3-1 loss at Linfield on Oct. 26, 2001.  The all-time Bruin record for digs is 52 against Western Oregon University on Nov. 14, 1998, by Sharon Barnett (McPherson), who is now an assistant coach for the Bruins.

In the opening set, the Wildcats used an 8-0 run to move from an early 5-2 deficit to a 10-5 advantage, the Bruins committing five attack errors and Emily Vuylsteke adding two kills in the rally.  The Bruins gradually closed the gap until a block by Natalie Pickett and Jessica Morrison and another by Pickett and Lyndsay Hovee gave the home team a 15-14 lead.  A kill by Samantha Lau pulled the Wildcats even for the last time at 17-17, but a spike by Stephanie Kerr put the Bruins ahead for good 18-17, and they out-scored the visitors 7-3 the rest of the way.

In the second set, the Bruins broke a 7-7 tie on a kill by Sarah Crossfield and moved out to a 16-11 lead on a winner by Hovee.  The Wildcats responded with a 9-2 run that included six Bruin attack errors to take a 20-18 lead before the Bruins recovered.  After battling back to force ties at 21-21, 22-22, and 23-23, the Bruins secured the win with a kill by Pickett and a block by Pickett and Hovee.

Set three belonged to Linfield, which used three consecutive blocks in the middle of the set to take control.  Leading only 9-8, the Wildcats got one point on a George Fox service error, then stuffed three consecutive Bruin attacks with combination blocks by Rosa Gimson and Tara Hill twice and a third by Gimson and Kelsey French.  The Wildcats scored the final five points of the set, a kill by Gimson finishing off the Bruins.

George Fox's ability to battle back was again evident in the fourth set after Linfield got back-to-back kills by Lau and a Bruin attack error to take 21-16 lead late in the contest, seemingly on the way to forcing a fifth and deciding game.  Back-to-back winners by Hovee started the Bruins' comeback, and they regained the lead at 23-22 on consecutive Linfield errors.  A kill by Crossfield put the Bruins one point away from the win, but a service error gave the Wildcats one more chance to tie it.  Hovee finished the win off, however, with her match-high 14th kill. 

Crossfield added 12 kills to Hovee's 14 for the Bruins, while Ali Lfebvre had 20 assists and Lani Rasmussen 19.  In addition to Panico's 39 digs, Hovee added 18, and Lefebvre and Sarah Burkey had 14 each.  Pickett contributed to four of the Bruins' seven team blocks.

Lau with 11 kills and Vuylsteke with 10 led the Wildcats, with Stephanie Purser passing out 31 assists.  Five Wildcats had double-figure digs, led by French with 18.  Purser and Hill had 17 digs each, and Lau and Rachael Rahn added 16 apiece.  Gimson with seven blocks and French and Hill with five each helped the Wildcats to 11 team blocks.

With the win, George Fox moves into a first-place tie in the conference with the University of Puget Sound, which lost at Whitworth University 3-1, and Pacific University, a 3-2 winner over Willamette University.  All three leaders are 4-1 in the league.

George Fox (10-5, NWC 4-1) visits Lewis & Clark College Saturday at 7:00 p.m.  Linfield (6-3, NWC 2-3) hosts Pacific Saturday at 7:00 p.m.