By Alex Plusquellec

The George Fox women's volleyball team hosted Pacific Lutheran Friday night, hanging tough with the first-place Lutes on senior night.

Recap

Playing in their final home game as Bruins, seniors Delaney Cruz, Acarey Rosa, Hanna Kumasaka and Stacy Kozlowski and their teammates gave the Lutes all they could handle early. PLU took an early 2-0 lead, but the Bruins battled back to tie the first set at 6-6.

The Bruins fell behind 13-10, but a service ace by Danyle Dupray and a kill by Laney Search helped knot things up at 13-13. The Lutes gained and held the advantage late into the set, but a big kill by Cruz cut the lead to 24-23. The Bruins weren't able to hold serve as the Lutes took set one 25-23.

Cruz and Dupray each recorded an early kill in set two, giving the Bruins the quick lead. The Lutes returned the favor, rolling out a 6-1 run to take the lead. Late in the set, the Bruins found themselves in a 20-14 hole, but found the energy and focus needed to make a run at the Lutes.

Kills by Ashtyn Butler, Paige O'Rear and Dupray helped bring the Bruins back to within one, 21-20. Despite the continued hustle and effort, the Bruins couldn't find points late as the Lutes snagged the second set 25-21.

Pacific Lutheran came out hot in set three, jumping out to a 12-6 lead. Another ace by Dupray and back to back kills by Cruz helped cut the deficit to four, but the Lutes again showed their strength by extending the lead out to eight. A late push by the Bruins came up short and the Lutes finished the sweep with a third set victory, 25-16.

Top Performers

Cruz and Dupray led the way with nine kills each. Madison Ross recorded a team-high 19 assists while four different Bruins tallied double-digit digs, led by Dupray with 18.

What It Means

The Bruins sit at 8-11 overall with a NWC record of 7-8.

What Comes Next

The Bruins will wrap up the regular season tomorrow night as they travel to Willamette to battle the Bearcats. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m.