By: Ryan Lackey

NEWBERG, Ore. --- The Bruins dropped their season opener on Tuesday night to visiting Northwest Christian, though the 3-1 final does not reflect the tense, back-and-forth nature of the sets. In fact, Tuesday's match looked early on like it would fall to the Bruins.

In the first set, which the Bruins took resoundingly, 25-13, Northwest Christian had few answers for the superb passing of George Fox's Payton Shrum, who finished the night with 38 assists. Erin Sprowls and Danyle Dupray both seized on Shrum's excellent passing with quick, efficient kills.

Eerily similar, both the second and third sets went to Northwest Christian, 25-20. In the second, the Bruins again took an early lead but could not defend it, coughing up a 17-15 lead behind quality offensive play from Northwest Christian's Kayla Ping. Still adding momentum, Northwest Christian put together a more complete performance in the third set, grabbing an early lead and defending it cagily despite dynamic play from the Bruins.

The fourth set was the most heavily contested of the night. After an early surge saw the Bruins with a 10-5 lead, Northwest Christian rallied to narrow the score to 11-10. From there, the two teams traded points with machinelike regularity. After the Bruins escaped a late 19-17 deficit, the score was knotted at 21-21 and dragged into extra play. Despite a full-hearted Bruins effort, a kill from Kassidy Winters put the game and the match away, 27-25.

Sprowls led the Bruins with 14 kills, good for a .400 percentage. Close behind were Dupray, with 10 kills and a .128 percentage, and Delaney Cruz, with 11 kills and a solid .250. Kelsea Meyers put in an excellent defensive shift, finishing with 24 digs.

Northwest Christian extend their winning streak to seven games with the win, keeping their record a perfect 7-0. The Bruins stand at 0-1 in the young season; they will look for their first win on Friday in the Pacific Coast Classic.