PARKLAND, Wash. – Hoping for a second upset of a Northwest Conference title contender in as many days, the George Fox University Bruins came up just short as the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes held on for a 3-2 victory (22-25, 28-26, 25-20, 19-25, 15-9) in women's volleyball action Saturday night here at Olson Auditorium.

After stunning the 24th-ranked and conference-leading University of Puget Sound Loggers 3-0 on Friday, the Bruins turned in another strong performance against the defending conference champion Lutes, who entered the match one game behind Puget Sound and Whitworth University in the NWC standings.  PLU remained in contention as the Lutes improved to 17-7 overall and 11-3 in conference play, while George Fox slipped to 10-14 overall and 5-9 in the league.

In the opening set, the Lutes took a quick 3-0 lead on a pair of Beth Hanna kills followed by a Melissa DeWalt kill.  Once George Fox tied it at 4-4, neither team led by more than two points until the Bruins grabbed a 22-18 advantage on Stephanie Kerr's kill. The Lutes got it as close as 23-22, but a kill by Cassie Irwin and a PLU ball-handling error finished the set in the Bruins' favor.

The Lutes opened the second set by taking a 13-7 lead on Blair Bjorkman's ace, and seemed in control when Sarah Beaver's service ace put them ahead 22-17. The Bruins scored the next five points on three PLU errors and kills by Kerr and Betsy Wilhelm. The score was tied at 23-23, 24-24, 25-25 and 26-26 before the Lutes tallied the final two points on a Bruin attack error and a Hanna kill.

The third set was a carbon copy of the second as PLU forged a 13-7 lead on DeWalt's kill, but this time the Lutes never surrendered the lead, keeping the Bruins at least two points behind the rest of the way.

In the fourth set, PLU held a 5-4 lead when George Fox ripped off six straight points on Carley Johnson's serve, the first five coming on three kills by Isabel Valentine and two by Kristin Knaupp. The Bruins continued to add on, leading by as many as nine points at 18-9 on a PLU attack error. The Lutes got within four points on two occasions, but George Fox earned the win to send it to a fifth and deciding set.

Needing a victory to stay in the hunt for their fifth straight conference title, the Lutes came out strong in the final set, taking a 4-0 lead behind a kill by DeWalt and a Rose Mattson service ace. PLU eventually led by as many as six points before closing it out on consecutive Bruin attack errors.  After hitting .326 in an impressive fourth-set win, the Bruins hit -.087 in the fifth set compared to PLU's .176.

George Fox had four players in double figures in kills - Knaupp and Valentine with 14 each, Kerr with 12, and Irwin with 11.  Ali Toedtemeier had 55 assists, a career high and the most by a Bruin in a match since set scores were reduced from 30 points for a win to 25 in 2008.  Patti Reeves led all players with 31 digs, followed by Toedtemeier with 17, Chelsea Wilson with 16, and Wilhelm with 12. Wilhelm and Wilson both had three service aces.  Valentine contributed one solo block and four block assists.  The Bruins hit .147 with a season-high 65 kills and had 108 digs, second only to 119 vs. Whittier this year.

PLU All-American Hanna led all players with 19 kills, while Kelsie Moore and DeWalt added 13 and 12 respectively. Beaver handed out 48 assists.  Bjorkman had a team-high 28 digs, followed by Moore with 25, Mattson with 16, and Hanna with 14.  Erin Bremond had seven block assists, and Mattson led the Lutes with three aces. The Lutes hit .199 in the match with 61 kills, in addition to 11 team blocks and 95 digs.

NEXT:  George Fox closes out the season with two games at home next weekend, starting with Pacific University on Friday at 7:00 p.m. ... Pacific Lutheran hosts Puget Sound Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in a match with huge implications in the conference standings.