NEWBERG, Ore. --- The George Fox women's volleyball team bested the Boxers of Pacific University Wednesday night, as the Bruins ran away with their first Northwest Conference victory, 3-1.

Recap:
The opening set didn't start out in favor of the Bruins, as the Boxers jumped out to a 7-4 advantage. The Bruins managed to scratch back, and force the first tie at 11-11, but the Boxers responded with four-straight points to retake the lead, 15-11. The Bruins managed to cut the deficit again at 19-18, but the Boxers came away with a 25-22 victory.

The second set was all Bruins. The momentum had switched and the crowd could feel the energy from the team. The Bruins had some help with multiple errors by the Boxers, but a service ace by Abby MacGregor sparked a 10-3 run. The Bruins didn't look back after the demanding lead, cruising to a 25-17 win, and forcing a 1-1 tie in the match.

The third set started out similar to the first, as the Boxers battled back with an opening 7-4 lead. Unfazed by the deficit, the Bruins went on a run after Danyle Dupray ignited the crowd with a blistering kill. With the set tied up at 7-7, both teams seemed comfortable trading points back and forth. The Boxers managed to stay in control for most of the set, but the turning point came at the 24-21 mark when the Bruins trailed by three. The Boxers coughed up two back-to-back errors, and the Bruins seemed to find new life. With the door cracked, Delaney Cruz seized the point with a huge kill to even things up at 24-24. Alyssa Burch was next up for the Bruins with a kill to take the lead for the first time in the entire set. The Bruins ended up taking the third set after a ball handling error by the Boxers at 26-24.

The fourth and final set was the closest of the match, as nine ties were recorded between both teams. The Bruins contained the lead for most of the set until the Boxers went on an 8-1 run to record the first tie at 15-15. Things went back and forth from there. The crowd watched as neither team led by more than one point for the next 14 points. After six consecutive ties, the Bruins finally broke through after Dupray and Amy Massingale combined for a huge block, 24-22. The ninth tie came at 24-24, but the Bruins went on the charge with another Dupray kill. The Bruins ended the set and the match with Massingale and Cruz landing a huge block for the Bruins.

The Bruins won 22-25, 25-17, 26-24 and 26-24.

Top Performers:
As a team, the Bruins out-hit the Boxers .190 to .090. Cruz led the Bruins with 12 kills, hitting .367 on the night, while Dupray added 10 kills. Both Alyssa Burch and Sprowls tallied seven kills. MacGregor led the Bruins with 19 assists, while teammate Hanna Kumasaka recorded 15. Dupray also led the Bruins in digs with 15.

What It Means:
The win marks the first for the Bruins in the NWC as the team stands at 3-9 and 1-4 in conference.

What Comes Next:
The Bruins will host Willamette Friday, Sept. 30, at 7p.m.