NEWBERG, Ore. — In front of a packed crowd, the George Fox women's volleyball team shot out to 2-0 set lead against the undefeated Pacific Lutheran Lutes. Alas, it was not to be. The Bruins' lead faltered faltered late, giving the Lutes room to stage a comeback and snag a fifth set victory.          

How It Happened
The Bruins came out of the gates hot against the first place Lutes, staying neck-and-neck with them through most of the first set.  After hanging in the game, the Bruins surged late for five unanswered to take a lead into the completion of the set, winning 25-20 and taking a 1-0 lead into the second set.   

The second set was more of the same, with the Bruins offense continuing its explosive attacks to keep the Lutes on their heels.  The story of this set was a streak of six unanswered by the Bruins in the first half of the set, giving them a sizable lead and giving them momentum that they carried through the rest of the set.  Though the Lutes attempted a late comeback, the Bruins held on, winning the set 25-20 once again to take a 2-0 lead.   

Though the Bruins fought hard to close out the match, the Lutes surged back in the second and third sets, taking them handily to even the match at 2-2. Fox looked to stage a comeback in the third set, cutting the Lute lead down from 10 to four thanks to a string of serves by Kassandra Mendenhall, but PLU held on to win. In the fourth set, the teams battled close, with Fox getting within 18-16, before the Lutes scored seven of the last eight to tie the match.

In the fifth set, the Bruins jumped out to an early lead, at one point leading the Lutes by five. The Bruin crowd of 350 was nearly deafening with a thunderous kill from Mendenhall, another kill from Taylor DeKoning, and two Lute attack errors to give the Bruins a 12-7. Just three points away, Fox couldn't close the deal as the Lutes surged late, overtaking the Bruins and snatching victory in the final set with eight straight points.
           
Top Performers
Kassandra Mendenhall led the charge for the Bruins, recording 16 kills and three block assists.  Behind her, Emily Blagg and Addison Robertson each recorded 12 kills, with Blagg recording six block assists and Robertson contributing an offensive assist.  To aid the Bruins offense, Kennedy Kibby recorded 35 assists for the Bruins.           

Coach's Thoughts
"Tonight was a night of great volleyball," Bruin head coach Emily Davis said, "It was hard to taste the win and not clinch it, but I hope we will carry the great play into our next match tomorrow."

What It Means
The Bruins move to 15-7 overall and 11-4 in conference, while the Lutes improve to 15-0 in conference play.

What Happens Next
The Bruins square off against the Willamette Bearcats for their final regular season game of the season tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. in Newberg.