PORTLAND, Ore. - Although they battled back twice to tie the match after dropping the first and third sets, the visiting George Fox University Bruins could not complete their comeback and fell 3-2 to the Lewis & Clark College Pioneers in the Northwest Conference women's volleyball opener for both teams Friday night here at the Pamplin Sports Center.

Lewis & Clark prevailed 25-12, 19-25, 25-14, 28-30, 15-11 in improving to 5-6 overall and 1-0 in the conference.  George Fox slipped to 5-5 and 0-1 in league play.

George Fox came out strong in the opening set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead behind kills from Eliza Pledger, Kristin Knaupp, and Cassie Irwin. The Pioneers rallied to tie the set 5-5 and stuck close to the Bruins the rest of the way. With the set tied 19-19, back-to-back Pioneer kills gave the team its third lead of the set, sparking the home team to victory.

The teams traded points several times to open the second set.  It was tied 7-7 before the Bruins took the lead for good on a block by Pledger and eventually opened up a 19-14 lead.  A winner by Pledger sealed the set and tied the match 1-1. 

After jumping out early in the third set, the Pioneers built up a 19-9 lead and coasted to the win. The Bruins struggled to a minus-.081 hitting percentage in the set while the Pios were hitting .250.

The fourth set was a back-and-forth tussle.  Lewis & Clark took a 10-7 lead, the largest by either team up to that point. George Fox came from behind to tie the set 17-17 before capturing a 23-19 advantage on a kill by Amanda White.  The Pios rallied for a 23-23 deadlock, but a service error handed the lead back to the Bruins.  A huge kill from Margaret Dowling tied the set once again, leading to a series of point swaps between the two sides.  Down 27-28, George Fox ruined that game point with a kill by Irwin, and then got two Pioneer attack errors to even the match at two sets apiece.

The Pioneers took control in the fifth set, taking an 8-3 lead before the Bruins climbed back within two at 12-10 on another winner by White.  Back-to-back Bruin attack errors gave the Pios the momentum back, however, and they ended the match on a kill by Dowling.

For the Bruins, Irwin knocked down 14 kills, Stephanie Kerr finished with 12, and White and Pledger added 10 each.  The Bruins struggled offensively, however, hitting only .080 (54 kills but 38 errors in 199 attempts) for the match.  Ali Toedtemeier had a game-high 49 assists. Chelsea Wilson led the Bruins defensively with 31 digs, while Irwin added 18, Jenna Dohren 14, Toedtemeier 13, and White 12.  Pledger had five blocks and Kerr four.

The Pioneers, who hit .114 (59 kills and 35 erors in 210 attempts), were led offensively by 18 kills from Dowling and 14 from Jenn Dowdy. Leia Matsunaga finished with 46 assists and a team-leading 22 digs. Dowdy had 20 digs, Lou Ohki 19, Molly Donahue 13, and Dowling 12. Alicia Callejo-Black came up with five blocks.

NEXT: George Fox (5-5, NWC 0-1) returns home to host Willamette University Saturday, while Lewis & Clark (5-6, NWC 1-0) welcomes Pacific University Saturday.  Both NWC contests begin at 7:00 p.m.