Box score

NEWBERG, Ore. - In a match that statistically played to a virtual standstill, the George Fox University Bruins had no answer for middle hitter Katherine Fiedler, who led the Lewis & Clark College Pioneers to a come-from-behind 3-2 victory in the Northwest Conference women's volleyball opener for both teams Wednesday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

In prevailing 25-18, 20-25, 10-25, 25-19, 15-10, the Pios got 19 kills and only three errors for a .500 hitting percentage from their 6-3 All-Conference middle.  George Fox had its five-game winning streak snapped as the Bruins slipped to 5-2 overall, while Lewis & Clark improved to 5-4 on the season.

The George Fox offense could never get untracked in the first set as the Bruins committed nine attack errors and hit only .042.  The Pios never trailed but did not pull away until a kill by Sarah Hall broke a 13-13 tie and sparked a 4-0 run that gave the visitors the lead for good.  The Pios closed out the set with a block by Hall and Margaret Dowling.

The Bruins got rolling in sets two and three to win handily, hitting .364 in the second set and a whoppig .478 in the third.  They had 17 kills in set two, and 12 kills with only one error in set three.  A block by Stephanie Kerr and Eliza Pledger snapped an 18-18 tie in set two and sent the Bruins off on a 7-2 run to win the set and even the match.  In set three, the Bruins scored the first six points and the final four points while outscoring the Pios 15-10 in between.

Fiedler had six kills in set four as the Pioneers evened the match.  Trailing most of the set, the Bruins were still within two at 13-11 after a kill by Lyndsay Hovee, but Fiedler won the next point with a cross-court kill that ignited an 8-1 run and gave the Pios control.  A Jennifer Dowdy winner ended the contest and forced a fifth set.

It was Lewis & Clark's turn for a near-flawless game in set five as the Pios posted 10 kills with only one error for a .450 mark.  Kills by Jennifer Panico and Hovee gave the Bruins brief leads of 5-4 and 6-5, but winners by Dowling and Fiedler and a pair of service aces by Julie Pirkle earned the Pioneers the momentum they needed to forge on to victory.  Dowling ended the match with another kill.

Hovee and Kerr had 14 kills each to lead the Bruins, Kerr hitting .444, while Pledger and Panico chipped in with 10 apiece.  Ali Toedtemeier and Lani Rasmussen had 26 and 24 assists respectively.  On defense, Hovee had 16 digs, Rasmussen 14, Carley Johnson 11, and Panico 10.  Pledger was in on all five of the Bruin blocks, two of them solos.

Joining Fiedler in the kills column for the Pios were Dowdy with 11 and Dowling with 10.  Leia Matsunaga passed out 48 assists.  Lou Ohki made 16 digs, Dowling 12, and Matsunaga and Hall 10 each.  The Pios had nine team blocks, with Dowling contributing to six of them.

George Fox visits pre-season conference favorite Pacific Lutheran University Friday while Lewis & Clark next plays Saturday at the University of Puget Sound.  Both matches are set for 7:00 p.m.