PARKLAND, Wash. – A red-hot .324 hitting percentage enabled George Fox University to take the first set of its Northwest Conference volleyball match with 16th-ranked Pacific Lutheran University Friday night here at the Names Family Court, but the Lutes bounced back to win three straight for a 3-1 victory (19-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-13).

George Fox (8-7, NWC 3-4) saw its three-game winning streak snapped, while Pacific Lutheran (11-4, NWC 7-0) won its ninth straight and remained one game ahead of the University of Puget Sound in the conference standings.

The Bruins never trailed in set one after taking a quick 2-0 lead, and a 4-0 run featuring a kill by Tiffany Burk and three PLU attack errors enabled the visitors to build the margin to 8-2.  The Lutes were able to close within two at 17-15 on a kill by Lucy Capron, but Burk and Karlee Jo Sampson had two winners apiece in a 5-0 run that gave the Bruins some breathing room at 22-15.  A kll by Kylee Adderson and another PLU hitting mistake ended the set.

The second set was tense throughout, with 13 ties and eight lead changes.  The Bruins took their last lead on a kill by Sampson that broke a 17-17 tie, and another Sampson winner made it 20-18 before the Lutes came back with four unanswered points to regain the advantage for good.  George Fox was only one point away at 23-22 following a kill by Erin Campbell, but a pair of kills by Capron secured the set for the Lutes.

Although PLU never trailed in set three, the Lutes were never able to shake the Bruins until late in the stanza.  The Bruins managed the last of three ties in the set at 15-15 on a service ace by Kelsea Meyers, but the Lutes took off on an 8-1 run, interrupted in the middle by a winner from Burk, with two kills and a block by Amy Wooten fueling the PLU drive.  Haley Urdahl's kill sealed the set.

PLU took an early 3-0 lead in the fourth set on a kill by Bethany Huston and two Bruin hitting errors and never looked back.  A 5-0 run midway through the set enabled the Lutes to extend the margin to double digits for the first time at 19-9, and they eventually concluded the match on a final winner by Chelsea Nelson for their largest margin of 12.

Sampson was the only Bruin to reach double figures in kills with 11, though Burk and Campbell just missed with nine kills each, and Erin Sprowls had eight with a .292 percentage.  Payton Shrum added 25 assists.  Defensively, Chelsea Wilson made 17 digs, Meyers 14, Shrum 12, and Campbell 10.  Burk had four blocks, one solo, to break a tie with Natalie Pickett (216, 2005-08) for sole possession of sixth place on the George Fox career list for blocks with 220.  

Huston paced PLU with 15 kills and Wooten added 12, with Samantha North contributing 48 assists.  Amber Aguiar made 23 digs, Capron 19, Taylor Komagome 17, and Urdahl 10, while Wooten had three blocks assists.

NEXT: George Fox goes to Willamette University while Pacific Lutheran hosts Lewis & Clark Saturday, both games starting at 7:00 p.m.