PORTLAND, Ore. -- The George Fox women's volleyball team defeated Lewis & Clark, breaking their losing streak with a strong 3-1 victory. 

How It Happened
The Bruins had a strong start to the first set as Allaire Gilder claimed the first kill—the game was back-and-forth until Fox broke ahead with a kill by Jenna Knibbs and a service ace immediately following to give Fox a 7-5 lead. The Bruins started to slowly move ahead as Gracie Bearden and Lexi Baer made back-to-back kills, while Knibbs recorded another kill to make the score 15-10. Fox took advantage of several Lewis & Clark errors, growing their lead to double-digits, with another Baer kill putting GFU up 12, 22-10. The first set ended on a high note for Fox as Jordan Hahn and Knibbs scored the last two kills to win the set, 25-11.

The second set was a nail-biter as the Pioneers claimed control quickly with a 5-0 lead.. The first point for Fox was scored by a block from Gilder, but Lewis & Clark continued to climb. Behind by seven (8-1), Bruin coach Emily Davis called a time-out — and the break seemed to work, as Baer and Hahn jumped in with strong kills. A service ace from Gilder closed the deficit to two, as the Bruins embarked on an unprecedented 9-0 run to take the lead. Baer and Hahn were blocking every fighting chance that Lewis & Clark Gilder stayed on a roll with three consecutive kills, bringing Fox up 16-12. The Pioneers gained some control back, though, staying two points behind for the rest of the set. Hahn, Bearden, and Baer gave the final three kills, winning again at 25-23 — a closer game, but still a win nonetheless.

Fox managed to lose a bit of their steam as they allowed the Pioneers to score the first points in the third set. However, Knibbs and Chloe Wiersma each had strong kills to make up for it, giving the Bruins their first lead, 4-3. The Bruins continued to stay in the lead for the majority of the set, with Mikila Kronholm even jumping in on the action with a kill of her own before an ace to give her team a 12-9 lead.

The Bruins kept Lewis & Clark at nine points, with Gilder and Baer extending the lead with two kills to make the score 17-9. The turning point happened midway through the set, when a Pio player went down with what appeared to be a serious injury. Lewis & Clark rallied behind their fallen teammate, rallying with a massive 10-point run to close the set with a win, 25-22.

The Bruins came back better than ever after a short break, with Bearden getting things going with a kill. A four-point run that culminated in a Wiersma ace gave the Bruins an 8-4 lead, though Lewis & Clark stayed close behind. Kronholm had an ace before Baer continued her solid game with a kill to make the score 16-13 — before another kill at 19-16. In the final rallies of the game, Wiersma set Knibbs up for a strong kill (22-16), as well as Kronholm at 24-16. Fox didn't give the Pioneers any window of hope as Knibbs ended the game with a thunderous kill of her own —- her career-high 13th of the night — as the Bruins won 25-16, finalizing the overall match score of the night at 3-1.

Top Performances
Sophomore Jenna Knibbs had a career night with 13 kills, 12 digs, and two aces, while Lexi Baer had 12 kills on an outstanding .458 hitting percentage and two digs. Allaire Gilder totaled  eight kills—two digs and two aces, while Gracie Bearden had seven kills overall, with eight digs and three aces. Mikaila Kronholm led the team with 23 assists.

Coach's Thoughts
"Lewis & Clark played with a lot of heart tonight, and our prayers go out to number five who was injured during the match," Bruin head coach Emily Davis said, "I am proud of our offense which helped us pull off the win, but we have a lot of work to do this season."

What It Means
GFU climbs to 4-6 (1-3 NWC), while Lewis & Clark stays at 0-11 (0-4 NWC). 

What Happens Next
After two weeks away from home, the Bruins will host  Whitman (3-7, 2-1 NWC) on Friday, October 3. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm.