NEWBERG, Ore. -- The George Fox women's volleyball team opened their season by hosting day one of the Oregon Trail Classic, starting strong with a 3-1 win over Hamline before falling to Azusa Pacific, 3-0.
How It Happened - GFU vs. Hamline
The Bruins began the season by starting several freshmen, with one—
Kendall Stidham—making an early impact with an assist to
Addison Goff for the first point of the year. The teams traded points early in the set, but three attack errors from the Pipers and another kill from Goff helped the Bruins break the deadlock and take a 9-8 lead. The Bruins quickly took control of the game, using two kills from senior
Gracie Bearden and one from freshman
Makena Phillips to go on a 7-1 run and never look back. Bearden finished the job at the end of the set, capping off another 3-0 and giving the Bruins a 25-18 first-set victory.
Fox parlayed that opening set victory into an early 4-2 lead thanks to two kills by freshman
Audrey Schmitt. Schmitt, a local Newberg product, showed that she was right at home with a staggering seven kills in the second set, including three of the first five GFU points. Much like the first set, the game see-sawed back-and-forth until Fox went on a 5-0 run. Though the Pipers rallied with four straight points of their own, four consecutive kills from Bearden, Schmitt,
Madelyn Gunn, and Phillips put Fox in front, 17-14.Â
Head coach
Emily Davis showed a bit of strategy towards the end of the set. With the official NCAA substitution limit increasing from 15 to 18 in 2026, Davis called serve specialist
LeAna Cimarra to the court. Cimarra made her coach proud with back-to-back aces to keep Fox ahead, 22-16. Fittingly, the set ended with a massive kill from
Audrey Schmitt, with the freshman taking advantage of a good set from Stidham to earn her seventh kill.
Up 2-0, the Bruins weren't able to earn the sweep over the Pipers in the third. Though EDEN Cha tallied her first kill and block in the set, an 8-1 run midway through the set put Hamline up 20-13 and seemed to leave GFU down and out. However, Fox still fought, slowly chipping away. A 23-15 deficit soon became a 23-19 one thanks to another kill from Schmitt. The Bruins inched as close as two points, 24-22, but a kill from the Pipers' Sophia Johnson gave the road team a 25-22 set three victory.
Fox quickly responded in the fourth set, though, with Bearden scoring the first point of the set on a kill. Another kill from Bearden and an ace from
Chloe Wiersma put the Bruins in front, 7-5, but Hamlin wrestled back control with four straight points. The Bruins would trail for the next 19 total points, trailing by as many as four (17-13), but tied the game up at 18 on another ace from Wiersma. Fox ended hot, with back-to-back blocks by Schmitt and Gunn and an ace from
Isabella Avila. The final point of the game came on another block, with Schmitt and Bearden teaming up to give Fox a 25-22 set win in a 3-1 victory.
How It Happened - GFU vs. Azusa Pacific
The second game of the day for GFU brought 150 more fans, but also a much tougher opponent. Azusa Pacific, which is in the process of reclassifying from NCAA Division II to Division III by the 2027-28 season, entered the year not yet eligible for the NCAA D-III Championships. As such, the Cougars played the game with their scholarship players. Though Fox fell behind, 10-5, kills by
Audrey Schmitt, Hahn, and Bearden helped keep them within shouting distance, 14-11. However, the Cougars began pulling away, with two kills from Jackie Wilson putting APU up 23-13.
Down by 10 in the first, the Bruins refused to get up. A kill from Bearden and a block from Schmitt were enough to get the crowd interested. Three straight attack errors from the Cougars got them invested. Finally, back-to-back kills from Schmitt and Cha not only put the crowd on their feet, but forced a Cougar timeout. The 8-0 got the Bruins close, but unfortunately, not close enough. GFU managed one more Schmitt kill, but dropped the set, 25-22.
Unfortunately for the Bruin faithful, Fox wasn't able to keep the energy going in the second or third sets. Though Bearden started the second with a kill on the first point, Azusa rattled off eight of the next nine points to take control of the game. The Cougars hit 0.464 in the set, winning 25-12. The third set stayed close early, with Stidham even earning a kill on a dump, but a 6-0 run ended any momentum for Fox as APU earned the sweep with a 25-14 win.
Top Performers
In game one,
Audrey Schmitt led the team with 11 kills and six blocks in her first official collegiate game;
Kendall Stidham led the team in assists with 26, while
Gracie Bearden totaled 14 digs.
Jordan Hahn and
Addison Goff each had eight kills, with Hahn's kills coming on just 16 attempts.
For game two, Bearden led the way with seven kills, while Stidham had 16 assists.
Isabella Avila has two service aces in each game.
Coach's Thoughts
"It was a great first day of competition," Bruin head coach
Emily Davis said, "and I'm super excited to see what the rest of the season holds. It's always enjoyable to get lots of players out on the court and see what we're made of."
What It Means
Fox begins the season 1-1, while Hamline is 0-2 and Azusa Pacific is 2-0.
What Happens Next
The Bruins will move to Willamette's campus to wrap up the Oregon Trail Classic on Saturday, September 5. Fox will play Augsburg at 10:30 a.m. before facing Nebraska Wesleyan at 3:30 p.m. in Salem, Ore.
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