Box Score

NEWBERG, Ore. - Sizzling on offense with 44 kills and only nine errors for a red-hot hitting percentage of .350 for the match, the George Fox University Bruins sailed past the Whitworth University Pirates 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-15) in Northwest Conference women's volleyball action Saturday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

In the first set, the Bruins collected 17 kills and made two errors in 44 attempts for a .341 percentage.  The Bruins never trailed and began to distance themselves from the Pirates when Kaitlyn Maddams got a kill and then served back-to-back aces that gave the home team a 9-4 advantage.  They gradually extended the lead until closing out the set with a 5-0 run that featured a kill by Stephanie Kerr, consecutive tandem blocks by Eliza Pledger and Betsy Wilhelm, and two spikes by Jennifer Panico.

Whitworth held brief one-point leads and there were six ties early in set two before the Bruins took the lead for good 7-6 on a kill by Pledger.  The Bruins took control with a 4-0 run that made it 19-12 with kills by Kerr and Panico aroud a block by Pledger and a Pirate attack error.  Lyndsay Hovee's kill closed out a set in which the Bruins had 17 kills and four errors in 29 attempts for a scorching .448 percentage.

Leading 3-2 in set three, the Bruins went up 4-2 on a Pirate attack error, and when the Whitworth bench protested the "out" call, a rare red card was issued by the officials, resulting in a penalty point that made it 5-2.  The Bruins then scored the next five points on two attack errors and a set error by the Pirates, a service ace by Lani Rasmussen, and a block by Kerr and Maddams, to take a comfortable 10-2 lead.  The Pirates got no nearer than seven points the rest of the way.  The match ended on a kill by Pledger.

Kerr led the Bruin attack with 11 kills and one error for a .667 percentage, with Maddams close behind after collecting eight kills and no errors for a .615 mark.  Ali Toedtemeier and Rasmussen handed out 19 and 17 assists respectively.  Panico paced the defense with 14 digs, Hovee had 11, and Carley Johnson 10 as the Bruins held a decided 52-39 advantage in digs.  The Bruins had six blocks, with Pledger, who ranks fourth nationally in blocks per set, Maddams, and Wilhelm in on three each.

Brynn DeLong topped the Pirates with nine kills and nine digs, while Jennifer Hoffnagle had 12 assists and Bree Riddle 11.  Randi Stephens was part of all three of the Pirates' combination blocks.  As a team, the Pirates had 26 kills but 18 errors and finished with an .075 attack percentage. 

George Fox (9-3, NWC 2-2) plays again Friday, visiting Linfield College at 7:00 p.m.  Whitworth (4-11, NWC 0-4), which dropped its fifth in a row, hosts conference leader and 19th-ranked Pacific Lutheran University Friday, also at 7:00 p.m.