PORTLAND, Ore. – Picking up their first two wins of the young women's volleyball season, the George Fox University Bruins cruised past the Mayville State University Comets 3-0 and the host Lewis & Clark College Pioneers 3-1 in the Northwest Invitational Tournament Saturday here at the Pamplin Sports Center.

George Fox 3, Mayville State 0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-18)

The NCAA Division III Bruins hit 100 points higher than the NAIA's Comets, .232 to .132, to earn their first victory of the season and even their overall record at 1-1.  Mayville, which had defeated Linfield College 3-2 earlier in the day, slipped to 6-3 overall. 

The first set was tight throughout, the final score equaling the largest margin either team had.  There were six ties, the last at 16-16 before the Bruins completed a 4-0 run to take a 19-16 lead.  Cassie Irwin had two kills and Tiffany Burk one in the run that put the Bruins ahead for good.  A kill by Stephanie Kerr closed out the set.

Mayville jumped out to a big 7-1 lead to start the second set, with Maggie Maroney recording three kills in a 7-0 run.  A winner by Erin Campbell halted the Comet streak, but the team from North Dakota eventually pushed the lead to seven at 18-11 before the Bruins began to climb back.  A pair of kills by Betsy Wilhelm around a Kylee Adderson ace helped cut the deficit to 18-15, and Chelsea Wilson served four winning points in a row, capping the run with an ace, to tie the set at 20-20.  There were ties at 22-22, 23-23, and 24-24 before the Bruins secured the set with a kill by Irwin and a Mayville attack error.

George Fox took control midway through the final set with a 6-0 run that gave the Bruins a 12-7 lead.  Adderson had two kills, Irwin one, and the two of them teamed up for back-to-back blocks during that stretch.  Another ace by Wilson made it 19-12, the Bruins' largest lead of the set, and they closed out the match with a final kill by Kerr.

Campbell led all hitters with 11 kills for the Bruins, while Wilhelm and Irwin added eight apiece.  Mackenzie Teigen passed out 21 assists and Wilson 19.  Defensively, Patti Reeves made 16 digs, Campbell 14, and Tiffany Burk was in on four of the Bruins' six blocks.

Maroney and Brittany Olson led the Comet with eight kills each, and Laura Kolness contributed 22 assists.  Betsy Smith and Emily Liljestrand had 10 digs each, while Maroney and Nikki Roholt posted five block assists apiece.

George Fox 3, Lewis & Clark 1 (25-20, 25-16, 20-25, 25-23)

In a non-league meeting of Northwest Conference foes, the Bruins out-defensed the Pioneers as neither team could mount a consistent offense.  George Fox hit only .092 for the match, but Lewis & Clark struggled even more, finishing with a .028 mark.

Set one featured nine ties and six lead changes.  George Fox broke the final knot of 16-16 with a bock by Irwin and Burk, followed by a kill by Campbell and an ace by Wilhelm.  Campbell later hit three winners in a row to give the Bruins a 22-18 lead, and a Pio attack error ended the set.

The Bruins spotted the Pios a 5-1 lead in the second set, then took advantage of three straight L&C attack errors to mount an 11-2 run to seize control.  George Fox's largest lead was 11 points at 24-13 following a winner by Adderson that capped a 5-0 run, and a spike by Kerr ended the set.

The Pios took advantage of a negative hitting percentage by the Bruins to capture the third set.  A kill by Erika James snapped a 5-5 tie and the home team never trailed again, building their biggest lead of 18-12 on a Kelsie Dorpat service ace.  The set ended on a winner by Alici Callejo-Black.

Lewis & Clark again took a big lead of 6-1 to start the fourth set but could not sustain it.  The Bruins slowly crept back into it and eventually evened the score at 17-17 on a block by Burk and Irwin.  The Pios regained leads of 19-17, 20-19,and 21-20 before the Bruins closed with a 5-2 spurt to earn the win.  Campbell brought the Bruins within a point of victory at 24-21 with a kill, but the Pios staved off elimination on a Bruin service error and an attack error, only to hit the potential tying point into the net on the serve to end the match.

Kerr with 12 kills and Campbell with 10 paced the Bruins, while Teigen handed out 21 assists.  Reeves made 22 digs, Campbell 17, and Wilson 11, Burk had a solo block and four assisted ones, and Irwin added four block assists.

Brigette Russo topped the Pioneers with nine kills and Dorpat passed out 25 assists.  Margaret Dowling collected 17 digs. 

NEXT: George Fox (2-1) takes on Edgewood College at 9:30 a.m. and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University at 11:30 a.m. Sunday to close out play in the Northwest Invitational.