NEWBERG, Ore. – Hitting .220 to win the second set, the George Fox University Bruins drew even with the 17th-ranked University of Puget Sound, but the visiting Loggers exploded to hit .329 over the last two sets and take a 3-1 win (25-16, 24-26, 25-6, 25-18) in Northwest Conference women's volleyball Saturday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

George Fox had one-point leads three times in the early stages of the opening set, but three straight kills by Nicolette Reynaud ignited an 8-0 run that gave Puget Sound control and a 13-6 lead.  The Loggers three times built 11-point leads, the last at 23-12 on a kill by Marissa Florant.

In the second set, the Bruins posted 17 kills while holding the Loggers to a .103 hitting percentage and evening the match.  UPS built an early 5-1 lead on three service aces, two by Jenni Brehove and one by Jackie Harvey, before the Bruins went on a 5-0 run that featured a block and a kill by Tiffany Burk and a winner by Erin Sprowls for a 6-5 advantage.  From that point on, there were nine ties and no lead by either team of more than three points.  Payton Shrum's service ace gave the Bruins a 24-23 edge and a chance to finish off the set, but the Loggers stayed alive with a kill by setter Brehove.  The Bruins closed the stanza, however, with a kill by Sprowls and a perfectly-placed surprise kill by libero Chelsea Wilson.

After falling behind 3-0 in the third set, the Bruins twice climbed within two points on a pair of kills by Brooke Sturdevant, but the Loggers ripped off 11 unanswered points with Florant serving to take complete control with a 16-3 lead.  The visitors closed out the set with a 6-0 run that included two aces by Harvey and three kills by Florant, including the final point.  UPS hit .324 while holding George Fox to a minus-.083 percentage.  The Bruins' six points tied their lowest total in a set since rally scoring began in 2001, equaling their low in the second set at California Lutheran University on Sept. 7, 2012.

The Bruins fell behind 14-9 in the fourth set but rallied to make a game of it with a 4-0 run, capped off by a block and a kill by Kylee Adderson, that cut the deficit to 14-13.  The Bruins were still within one at 17-16 following a combo block by Sprowls and Burk, but the Loggers pulled away with an 8-2 run, kills by Brehove and Emily Convery around two winners by Harvey closing out the match.  UPS hit .333 to .071 for the Bruins in the final set, and .228 (51-15-158) to .083 (43-30-157) for the match.

Sprowls was the only Bruin in double figures in kills with 10, while Sturdevant just missed with nine.  Shrum handed out 38 assists.  Wilson led all defenders with 23 digs, giving her 1,316 for her career and moving her past Michelle Nelsen (1,298, 1992-95) for seventh on the Bruins' all-time list.  Shrum and Campbell had 15 digs apiece, and Sturdevant added 14.  Burk was in on six of the Bruins' nine blocks with three solos and three assists.

Harvey with 13 kills and Reynaud with 11 led the Loggers, while Brehove passed out 36 assists.  Christina Chun had 18 digs, Florant 15, Brehove 12, and Harvey 11.  The Loggers had 12 blocks, Reynaud contributing four solos and two block assists and Convery five assists.

NEXT: George Fox (9-9, NWC 4-6) makes the eastern Washington trip next weekend, starting with Whitworth University in Spokane, Wash., on Friday at 7:00 p.m. … Puget Sound (14-5, NWC 9-1) hosts cross-town rival and 16th-ranked Pacific Lutheran University Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in a battle for first place in the conference.