SALEM, Ore. — The George Fox women's volleyball team lost in the fifth set despite a strong start against the Willamette Bearcats, 3-2. 

How It Happened
The Bruins showed up to Willamette ready to compete, as seen through their dominant first set. As soon as the whistle blew, George Fox was making an impact on the court through kills made by Addison Goff and Allaire Gilder. The Bearcats were quick to answer back and take the lead — however, the Lady Bruins were undeterred and went on an impressive five-point rally before Willamette was forced to take a timeout. The rally started with a huge block from Gilder and continued through kills made by Lexi Baer and Jordan Hahn, 8-4. Willamette was able to score a couple of points, but were shut down by yet another Bruin five point rally. This rally was also a combination of offensive and defensive plays. Goff added two kills to the board, Hahn had one of her own, Chloe Wiersma had an ace, and — to end it all — Goff and Hahn came together for a powerful block, 13-6.

 George Fox continued to control the rest of the set, and while the Bearcats tried to make a comeback, the damage was done. Gracie Bearden started and ended a four point rally with two kills — 19-9 — and Gilder started another shortly after with a kill. Bearden assisted in the streak with two consecutive aces along with a block from Baer and Gilder to make the score 23-10. The first set was taken by the Bruins with a finishing kill from Goff, 25-13. 

George Fox continued to show up on the court as their energy remained high and continued to grow after a block from Bearden and Gilder as well as kills from Goff and Gilder, 3-2. This time around, the Bearcats put up more of a fight, 9-8. It wasn't until kills from Baer, Goff, and Gilder along with an ace by Mikaila Kronholm and a block from Bearden that GFU started to pull away in score, 15-9. Even after a Willamette time out, they couldn't get past the wall Baer and Gilder made—the pair blocked two of the Bearcats attempts—and the offense brought an ace from Gilder and a kill by Goff, 20-11. The Bruins ended the set with a four point run which included kills from Hahn and Hannah Huffman, an ace from Goff, and a superb solo block from Hahn, 25-15. 

Bearden began the third set with an ace before the Bearcats offense started to pick up speed; the gap in the score as Willamette hit their stride as the Bruins struggled to keep up, 6-14. GFU answered back with a four point run thanks to kills from Allaire, Baer, and Goff to cut the difference in score to 11-16. The Lady Bruins continued to fight back through their offense — kills made by Hahn and Bearden as well as an from Goff —, but it wasn't until the end of the third set that Willamette went on a five point run and took the set, 17-25. 

The fourth set came around and after a kill from Gilder, the Bearcats became aggressive in their offense and went on an eight point run which was broken by a kill from Goff, 2-8. From then on out, the Lady Bruins began to quietly make the score closer. Two kills from Baer and Hahn as well as an ace from Wiersma was the result of a three point run, 5-10. Later on, another three point run happened thanks to blocks by Bearden, Gilder, and Huffman to make the total 10-12. It was a battle over the net as both teams weren't ready to let up. Despite GFU's best efforts, the Bearcats won the set, 20-25. 

The fifth set brought tension to the gym as everybody watched on the edges of their seats as the two teams battled it out for the win. Fox was the first to take the lead after an error made by Willamette. Despite their error, the Bearcats answered back with a kill, 1-1. From then on it was a back-and-forth as the Bruins put up kills — made by Kronholm and Goff — while also using Willamette's errors as openings for more points, 4-2. The Bearcats went on a four point run shortly after GFU took the lead, and even despite the Lady Bruins' best attempts, Willamette went on a six point run, 7-12. George Fox kept fighting, but ultimately fell to the Bearcats, 10-15. 

Top Performances
Addison Goff had an incredible night overall with a career-high 17 kills, 18 digs, and four aces. Behind Goff in kills was Jordan Hahn with 13 along with Gracie Bearden, Allaire Gilder, and Lexi Baer who had nine apiece. Mikaila Kronholm was the Bruins main setter with 28 assists, but not far behind her with 23 assists was Chloe Wiersma. Along with her kills, Bearden also had 18 digs, three aces, and two solo blocks. 

What It Means
George Fox is now 5-10 (2-7 NWC), while Willamette rises to 7-9 (5-4 NWC). 

What Happens Next
The Bruins will compete next on Friday, October 17 against Pacific Lutheran (7-8, 5-3 NWC). The home game against the Lutes is scheduled to start at 7:00 pm at Wheeler Sports Center.