NEWBERG, Ore. - Setting the stage for a huge showdown for second place in the Northwest Conference women's volleyball race on Friday, the George Fox University Bruins knocked off the error-prone Linfield College Wildcats 3-1 (25-18, 26-28, 25-19, 25-22) Saturday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

George Fox is now 17-5 overall and 10-4 in the conference, while Linfield falls to 8-13 overall and 5-9 in the league.  The 21st-ranked University of Puget Sound Loggers remained tied with the Bruins for second place by defeating Whitman College 3-0, moving to 16-6 overall and 10-4 in the NWC.  The Bruins host the Loggers Friday at 7:00 p.m., with the winner assured of no worse than a tie for second, a position that could be critical to both teams' hopes for an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament.

The visiting Wildcats had 15 more kills than the Bruins in the match, 59-44, but committed 39 attack errors to only 16 for the home team.  A significant portion of those errors came on 14 George Fox blocks.  The Bruins hit .165 to .102 for the Wildcats overall.

After Linfield won the first point of the match on a George Fox attack error, two kills by Eliza Pledger highlighted a 5-0 run that put the Bruins ahead for good in the opening set.  The Wildcats closed within a point at 9-8 on a kill by Tara Hill, but Kaitlyn Maddams served back-to-back aces to spark an 8-2 Bruin run that gave them control and a 17-10 lead, and the Wildcats got no closer than four the rest of the way. 

In the second set, George Fox rallied from behind to tie Linfield eight times but could only go ahead once, and that gave them a chance to win the game.  The Wildcats jumped out to a 4-0 lead before the Bruins rallied for a 7-7 tie.  The Bruins again tied it at 10-10, 11-11, and 12-12, the Wildcats regaining the lead each time.  The set was tied again by the Bruins at 22-22, 23-23, and 24-24 before George Fox finally took its only lead of 25-24 in a Linfield attack error.  A kill by Katie Leavitt brought Linfield back into a tie, then Leavitt served an ace for a go-ahead point, only the have Bruins tie it a ninth time 26-26 on a kill by Stephanie Kerr.  The Wildcats finally put the Bruins away with a kill and an ace by Emily Vuylsteke.

George Fox held firm control of set three after taking a quick 12-3 lead, and was ahead 22-14 when Linfield launched a rally behind Rosa Gimson's four kills in the space of six points to pull within four at 23-19.  Consecutive kills by Jennifer Panico enabled the Bruins to hang on for a two-sets-to-one lead.

The Wildcats scored the first three points of the fourth set, only to have the Bruins put together a 6-0 run on a Pledger kill, an Ali Toedtemeier service ace, and four Linfield hitting errors.  The Bruins never trailed again, but the Wildcats caught up twice at 17-17 and 18-18, the last time on a kill by Hill.  Winners by Kerr and Lyndsay Hovee and two more Wildcat errors gave the Bruins a 22-18 lead, but again Linfield battled back to close within 22-21 on a kill by Leavitt.  A spike by Maddams and two final Wildcat errors offset a kill by Gimson and gave the Bruins the hard-fought win.

Pledger led the Bruins with nine kills, Hovee added eight, and Panico and Maddams had seven each, with Toedtemeier passing out 37 assists.  Hovee, Panico, and Carley Johnson had 22 digs apiece, and Jenna Dohren added 10.  In the blocks department, Pledger had three solos and five assists, Maddams a solo and five assists, and Kerr had five assists.  Maddams also served three aces.

Gimson led a quartet of Wildcats in double-figure kills with 15, with Hill adding 14, Vuylsteke 13, and Leavitt 10.  Stephanie Purser had 27 assists and Emily Carpenter 20.  Samantha Lau, the conference leader in digs, was all over the court with a match-high 34 digs, while Kelsey Franklin had 17, Leavitt 13, and Carpenter 10 as the Wildcats had 98 in the match. 

Linfield visits Lewis & Clark College Friday at 7:00 p.m.