TACOMA, Wash. – Overcoming an outstanding offensive evening by George Fox University senior Stephanie Kerr, the 19th-ranked University of Puget Sound Loggers held off an upset bid by the visiting Bruins in three tight sets for a 3-0 Northwest Conference women's volleyball victory Friday here at Memorial Fieldhouse.

Kerr led all hitters in the match with 13 kills and made only four errors in 23 attempts for a fine .300 percentage, but it was not enough as the Loggers prevailed over the Bruins 25-23, 25-23, 25-20 for their 14th straight home win.  Puget Sound, one of three nationally-ranked NWC teams, pulled within a game of first-place Whitworth University, which lost its first conference match Friday 3-0 at Lewis & Clark College.

Both teams struggled to get their offenses going in the first set, the Loggers hitting only .140 but holding the Bruins to an .083 mark despite Kerr's five kills.  Kerr had three winners as the Bruins built an early 5-2 lead, but the Loggers answered with a 6-0 run, aided by three Bruin attack errors, to move ahead 8-5.  The visitors bounced back to take two-point leads three more times, the last at 13-11 on a Kerr kill, before the Loggers pulled away late to take a 24-19 advantage on a block by Nicolette Reynaud and Erika Greene.  The Bruins reeled off four points in a row to tighten the set before another block by Reynaud and Jackie Harvey ended it.

Offense stole the show in the second set as the Bruins blasted the ball for a .270 mark while the Loggers hit .250.  Kerr had five more kills, while Harvey went her one better with six winners.  There were 14 ties in the set, including deadlocks at every number from 11-11 through 22-22.  The Loggers broke the final tie with a kill by Green and a Bruin attack error before Kerr and Harvey exchanged spikes to close the set.

George Fox led most of the first half of the third set, though never by more than two points.  A Reynaud-Green block gave UPS its first lead since early in the set at 15-14, but the Bruins earned a 15-15 tie on a surprise kill by setter Chelsea Wilson.  The home team then took control with eight points in a row for an insurmountable 23-15 lead.  The Bruins made a brief 4-0 run to close the gap, Betsy Wilhelm getting two kills in that span, but the Loggers got winners by Brynn Blickenstaff and Bre Boyce around a final Fox winner from Kerr to conclude the match.

In addition to Kerr's big game for the Bruins, Wilhelm chipped in with eight kills, while Mackenzie Teigen handed out 24 assists.  Amanda White and Chelsea Wilson led the defensive effort with 10 digs each, and Tiffany Burk contributed four blocks. 

Harvey paced UPS with 14kills and Blickenstaff added 12, with Greene passing out 36 assists.  Three Loggers - Harvey, Stephanie O'Connor, and Juliette Witous had 13 digs, Harvey 12, and Stephanie O'Conner 10, while Jaime Ecklund had five block assists.  The Loggers out-hit the Bruins .234 (46 kills, 17 errors, 124 attempts) to .154 for the Bruins (39-20-123).

NEXT: George Fox (7-9, NWC 2-5) returns home to host Linfield College on Homecoming Night while Puget Sound (13-2, 5-2) welcomes in Willamette University, both matches on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.