NEWBERG, Ore. – Tested to the limit by a feisty George Fox University team, the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes finally earned the Northwest Conference women's volleyball crown outright and a post-season berth with a 3-2 win (25-20, 21-25, 25-19, 19-25, 15-11) over the Bruins Friday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

Pacific Lutheran, ranked 14th in the NCAA Division III by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, ran its record to 20-5 overall and 14-2 in the conference and thus eliminated any chance of the second-place University of Puget Sound from sharing the title.  George Fox fell to 9-13 overall and 7-8 in the conference despite one of its best-played matches of the season.

After trading the first 12 points of the first set, PLU surged ahead with four straight points on a kill and a block by Bethany Huston and kills by Becca Holtgeerts and Haley Urdahl for a 13-8 lead.  A kill by the Bruins' Cassie Irwin ended that run and ignited an 8-0 outburst that featured four kills by Tiffany Burk, giving them a 16-13 advantage.  The rest of the set was all Lutes, however, as they closed with a 12-4 run.

In the second set, the Bruins built an early eight-point lead, blew all of it, then hung on to win.  Burk paced the Bruins to a 10-3 lead with three kills and a service ace, and a spike by Capron made it 13-5.  The Lutes used a 5-0 run shortly thereafter to get back in the game at 14-12, and they eventually tied it 19-19 after consecutive Bruin hitting errors.  The Bruins went ahead again on winners by Erin Campbell and Lucy Capron, but the Lutes tied it once more on a Huston kill and a Bruin attack error.  The home team then reeled off four unanswered points to secure the set on a block by Payton Shrum, a Chelsea Wilson ace, a PLU attack error, and a clinching kill by Capron.

The third set saw nine ties and six lead changes through the first half, the last deadlock at 13-13, before the Lutes took the lead for good on a Bruin setting error.  PLU gradually extended its lead from there, building a six-point lead at 24-18 on a George Fox ball-handling miscue.  A kill by Burk forestalled the end, but only for a moment as the Lutes secured the set on a final Bruin hitting error.

The Bruins evened the match by holding the Lutes to a negative -.120 hitting percentage in winning the fourth set.  PLU took an early 5-2 lead and built it to 10-5 on a kill by Amy Wooten before the Bruins gradually climbed back into it.  A PLU attack error allowed the Bruins to even the score at 16-16, then Campbell had a block and a kill to give the home team the lead for good.  The Lutes were still within one at 19-18 following a Bruin hitting error, but a block by Kylee Adderson started a finishing 6-1 run, sealed by a block by Shrum, that sent the match into a fifth and deciding set.

In the final stanza, the Lutes used a 5-0 run featuring two aces by Blair Bjorkman to take a seemingly-safe 10-4 lead.  The Bruins would not go quietly, however, rallying behind two Campbell kills and winners by Capron and Burk to make it a one-point game at 12-11.  The Lutes bore down then and finished with spikes by Huston, Urdahl and Holtgeerts to nail down the NWC title and the NCAA spot.

Capron led all hitters with 18 kills for the Bruins, while Burk added 14 and Campbell 11.  Shrum handed out 46 assists.  Defensively, Wilson had 24 digs, Capron 23, Irwin 20, Campbell 16, and Shrum 12.  Campbell had seven blocks (two solo) and Adderson five (one solo) out of the Bruins' total of 11.  Seniors Irwin and the injured Betsy Wilhelm were honored for their careers in pre-game ceremonies.

Wooten paced PLU with 12 kills while Urdahl, Holtgeerts and Huston had nine each.  Brianne Vincent distributed 36 assists.  Urdahl led all players with 27 digs, followed by Bjorkman with 18, Chelsea Nelson 15, Vincent 14, and Amber Aguiar 10.  Huston had seven blocks (five solo) out of the Lutes' 11 as a team.

NEXT: George Fox ends its season Saturday at Willamette University at 7:00 p.m. ... PLU is done for the regular season.