Box Score

NEWBERG, Ore. - Keeping alive their hopes for an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament, the 23rd-ranked University of Puget Sound Loggers captured a critical win over the George Fox University Bruins 3-0 (25-22, 30-28, 25-17) in Northwest Conference women's volleyball Friday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

With Pacific Lutheran University having wrapped up the conference title with a win over Pacific University on Thursday, the Loggers will have to rely on the NCAA selection committee to make it back to the nationals, where they went 3-1 last year.  Friday's win was one the Loggers had to have, and the Bruins made them earn it, particularly in the first two sets.

The first set featured six lead changes, 12 ties, and no more than a three-point lead for either team during the whole set.  George Fox used a pair of Puget Sound service errors and a kill by Sarah Crossfield to move from an 18-18 tie to a 21-19 lead, only to have the Loggers rally with five unanswered points for a 24-21 lead.  Kills by Sophie DeWitt and Brynn Blickenstaff and a combination block by the same two fueled the run.  After a kill by Natalie Pickett kept the Bruins alive, a block by DeWitt and Erika Greene gave UPS the win.

Set two was just as intense, with six more lead changes and 12 more ties.  UPS twice took five-point leads early in the set, the last at 10-5 on a Bruin attack error, but the home team then went on a 10-5 run to knot it at 15-15 on a kill by Crossfield.  A 7-3 run by the Bruins, capped by a Jennifer Panico winner, gave them their largest lead of 22-18, but the Loggers used a 5-1 outburst of their own, featuring two kills by Emma Bryant, for a 23-23 tie.  From that point on, George Fox had the lead three times and Puget Sound had it twice without putting the set away.  UPS finally nailed down the win with a kill by Lindsey Denman and a Bruin attack error.

In set three, the Loggers took no chances, jumping out to a 7-2 lead behind three kills by Blickenstaff and two by Bryant.  The Bruins got no closer than four thereafter as UPS pulled away.  The Loggers' biggest advantage was nine points at 24-15, coming on a block by Greene and Bre Boyce.  A final kill from Blickenstaff finished off the match.

The Bruins were led offensively by Crossfield and Ashley Sheller, who had nine kills apiece.  Ali Lefebvre and Lani Rasmussen passed out 19 and 16 assists respectively.  Sheller and Panico made 17 digs each and Sarah Burkey added 16.  Pickett assisted on three of the four blocks the Bruins had as a team.

Blickenstaff led all hitters with 16 kills, Bryant added 12, and DeWitt had nine.  Jamee Fred, among the national leaders in assists, handed out 46 this time, over 15 per game.  Juliette Witous led all defenders with 23 digs, Denman had 16, and Greene contributed 13.  The Loggers had nine team blocks, Bryant chipping in on four of them.

George Fox (11-14, NWC 5-10) will try to break its six-match losing streak in the final contest of the season Saturday at home against Willamette University at 7:00 p.m.  Puget Sound (16-7, NWC 11-4) closes out its regular season at Lewis & Clark College at 7:00 p.m. in a battle that will decide second place in the conference.