Box Score By: Ryan Lackey
NEWBERG, Ore. - The Bruins swept the Willamette University Bearcats on Saturday, three sets to none, but the match's historic second set provided all the drama required.
The first set saw the energized Bruins start quickly, led by active outside hitter Delaney Cruz, who'd finish with 14 kills. Though the Bearcats never allowed the score to separate much, the Bruins won comfortably, 25-21, behind libero Brynelle Bremner's stalwart defense.
Head coach Steve Grant brought on fearsome hitter Erin Campbell to begin the second set, and although Campbell won the opening point with a concussive kill, the Bruins never quite found their groove through the set's middle. Like the first set, the second was a back-and-forth affair, but the Bruins, this time, found themselves chasing the resurgent Bearcats. Taylor Lum, who finished with nine kills, led Willamette to an apparently safe 23-17 lead.
Sophomore Erin Sprowls, though, aced a serve to halt the Bearcats' run. Undaunted, the Bearcats battled back, but another Sprowls ace – she collected three, total – was immediately followed by a perfectly placed tip from Kylee Adderson.
Inspired, the embattled Bruins stormed back to tie the game 24-24 and, after a long rally, seized the 25-24 lead. On the Bruins' set point, the Bearcats' Sarah Fincher rose for a ringing spike and appeared to score, but Campbell made a desperate dig and drove home the set-winner as the crowd roared.
The dramatic comeback from a six-point deficit was the largest in Bruins history.
"You could search records and video forever and never, ever find a comeback more exciting than that one," said head coach Steve Grant. "I just couldn't believe it."
Compared to the second, the third set was subdued and the most one-sided set of the night. The Bearcats, visibly flagging, had no answer for Campbell, Cruz, and Adderson, who received pinpoint passes from setter Payton Shrum – she tallied 36 assists total. Campbell, placing an exclamation mark on the night, won the Bruin's fifteenth point on a rocketed kill, and the Bruins pulled away in the set's midgame to win the set 25-16, and the game.
The Bruins served seven aces and hit .201 as a team, compared to the Bearcats' .139. Individually, Adderson hit an impressive .345, and the trio of Adderson, Campbell, and Cruz scored 34 of the Bruins' 45 kills. Bremner led the Bruin defense with 22 digs, and Erin Sprowls chipped in 13 more.
Still, the night's highlight was undoubtedly the Bruin's dogged comeback.
"That was absolutely the greatest comeback in George Fox history," said an elated Grant postgame.
The three-set sweep was the Bruins' first on the season, and they improve to 4-18 and 3-9 in conference as they prepare to face Lewis and Clark on the 29th. The Bearcats drop to 11-10, 6-6 in conference, and travel to Whitworth on the 31st.
