NEWBERG, Ore. -- The George Fox women's volleyball team competed in a tough game against Pacific Lutheran, losing 3-0 to the Lutes. 

How It Happened
The game began with the Lutes drawing first blood and scoring the first two points of the game, but Jordan Hahn answered with a crushing kill to get on the board. After Pacific Lutheran went on an efficient four-point run, Lexi Baer took matters into her own hands and scored two consecutive kills for George Fox, 3-6. Despite the Bruins fighting spirit, PLU was relentless as they went on a seven-point run before stretching the lead to 15,  7-22. 

The Bruins' resiliency shone after Hannah Huffman and Hahn put up a powerful block to start a rally; George Fox racked up five points through kills made by Gracie Bearden and Hahn before a PLU timeout, 12-22. Pacific Lutheran came out of the set hot, silencing the Bruins with a 25-14 win. 

PLU used their energy from the first set to gain an early lead, with Gilder's kill at 6-1 the first of the set for Fox. The Lutes' then took complete control of the set, allowing just one Bruin point over the next six to take a 12-2 lead, expanding it to 18-5 as time progressed. The lone highlight of a 25-11 set win for the Lutes was a block assist for Gabriela Yepez Suarez in her first career game.

Fox earned their first lead of the day by taking the first point of the third set with a kill by Baer. Pacific Lutheran remained unfazed, though, embarking on a five-point run. The teams traded short runs, with a kill from Hahn cutting the Lute lead to 13-8. The tension in the gym was high as the Lady Lutes went on another five point run, 10-18. Their momentum slowed down as the Bruins began to creep back into competition. It began with a kill from Bearden and was quickly followed by a solo block from Gilder, a kill from Goff, and another scored by Hahn, 12-20. 

George Fox put more stress on Pacific Lutheran with a final run of their own. What started with a Lute error turned into a common kill for Bearden and a rare one for Isabella Avila — along with an ace from the libero — that resulted in more errors from PLU. While the Lady Bruins fought hard to end the game with six straight points to cut the deficit to five, Pacific Lutheran took the set — 18-25 — and the game, 0-3. 

Top Performances
Leading George Fox in kills was Jordan Hahn with seven, while Lexi Baer and Gracie Bearden with six and five kills respectively. The lead setter for the Bruins was Mikaila Kronholm, who had 16 assists. The only ace of the night was achieved by Jenna Knibbs, while Isabella Avila and Bearden each had 11 digs to contribute. 

What It Means
George Fox is now 5-11 (2-8 NWC) in the season, and the Lutes rise to 8-8 (6-3 NWC). 

What Happens Next
The Lady Bruins will stay home at the Wheeler Sports Center to go up against Puget Sound (13-5, 9-0 NWC) on Saturday, October 18; the contest against the Loggers will begin at 7:00 pm.