NEWBERG, Ore. – Senior setter Ali Toedtemeier went over 2,000 career assists and junior libero Patti Reeves set a new George Fox University record for digs per set, leading the Bruins past the Linfield College Wildcats 3-1 (25-21, 25-17, 27-29, 26-24) in Northwest Conference women's volleyball Saturday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

With the victory, George Fox finishes with an 11-15 overall record and a 6-10 conference slate.  Linfield is done at 8-16 overall and 6-10 also in the conference.  The two teams join Lewis & Clark College, which fell to league champion Whitworth University Saturday, in a three-way tie for fourth in the NWC standings.

Toedtemeier had 48 assists in the match and finished with 914 for the season, the 10th-best total in a single season.  Her career ends with 2,008 total assists, making her the ninth in Bruin history to surpass 2,000 and leaving her ninth on the all-time assists list.

Reeves made 28 digs in the contest and finished the year with 500, second in a season only to Sharon Barnett's 631 in 1998, when the Bruins played 39 matches and went to the NAIA National Tournament.  Her average of 5.88 digs per set tops the previous mark of 5.43 by Linzi Stolsig in 2005.

After Linfield took a 4-1 lead to start the match on two kills by Tara Hill and two service aces by Bethany Dickey, George Fox took a 15-8 lead with a 10-0 run that featured four service aces by Kristin Knaupp.  The Bruins built the lead to 19-10 on a kill by Amanda White, and a spike by Isabel Valentine closed the set.

The Bruins' Stephanie Kerr broke a 4-4 tie with a kill that ignited a 6-0 run and gave the Bruins a lead they would not relinquish in the second set.  The Wildcats closed within three points three times thereafter, but each time the home team responded with a key point to keep the visitors at bay.  Another winner by Kerr sealed the second set and gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead.

The third set saw six early ties before the Bruins finally built a five-point lead at 16-11 on a solo block by Valentine.  Back came the Wildcats to forge a 19-19 tie on a block by Kelsey Ludin, and the game remained close the rest of the way.  Each team twice had opportunities to put the set away before the 'Cats broke a 27-27 tie on a Bruin attack error and a kill by setter Emily Carpenter to stay alive.

The fourth set was even tighter, with eight ties and neither team managing more than a three-point lead.  Linfield took its last lead at 11-10 on a kill by Hill, but a 4-0 run, including two kills by Kerr and one by Valentine, made it 14-11 Bruins.  They would not trail again, though the Wildcats survived while down 24-22 on a Bruin service error and an attack error.  Knaupp broke the 24-24 tie with a kill, and a Linfield set error ended the match.

Valentine led the Bruin offense with a career-high 19 kills, and Kerr added 14 while hitting .321.  The Bruins out-hit the Wildcats .124 (57-33-194) to .095 (47-30-179).  Joining Reeves in the defensive effort were Knaupp and Toedtemeier with 13 digs and Carley Johnson with 12.  Valentine had three solo blocks and two blocks assists.

Rosa Gimson paced the Wildcats with 13 kills and no errors for a .565 hitting mark, Jordan Johnson added 12 kills, and Hill had 10.  Carpenter handed out 31 assists.  Samantha Lau made 23 digs, Carpenter 16, Hill 15, Kelsey Franklin 14, and Dickey 12.  Gimson and Johnson had five and four block assists respectively. 

The Bruins recognized their three seniors - Toedtemeier, Johnson, and Jenna Dohren - in pre-game ceremonies led by head coach Steve Grant, whose 29-year record now stands at 567-380.