PARKLAND, Wash. - Pacific Lutheran, winner of three straight Northwest Conference volleyball championships, started its title defense Friday night with a 3-0 victory over George Fox in Olson Auditorium.

The Lutes, ranked No. 19 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III national poll, defeated the visiting Bruins, 25-18, 25-22, 25-21. PLU improves its overall record to 5-5 and is now 1-0 in the conference while George Fox falls to 5-3 overall and 0-2 in the NWC.

PLU's three-pronged attack of outside hitters Beth Hanna and Kelsie Moore and middle blocker Kelcy Joynt was in good form as the trio combined for 28 of the Lutes' 39 total kills. Moore, a sophomore, led the Lutes with 10 kills and hit .286 in the match. Joynt, a senior, finished with nine kills and hit .318, while Hanna had nine kills and finished with a .171 hitting percentage.

Junior setter Sarah Beaver finished the match with 30 assists and also contributed five kills in only eight attempts. Joynt and Hanna both had 10 digs to lead the Lutes in that department, and Joynt finished the night with one solo blocks and two block assists. Brenna Archibald and Blair Bjorkman both had three of the Lutes' eight service aces.

The Bruins' Lyndsay Hovee led all players with 12 kills, and Stephanie Kerr contributed 11 kills and only one error in 18 attempts for an impressive .556 attack percentage. Hovee led her team with 10 digs.

In the first set, a George Fox service error broke a 7-7 deadlock, giving the Lutes a lead they would not lose. Joynt's service ace put the Lutes ahead 16-10, but the Bruins rallied to within four points at 22-18 before three consecutive attack errors put the first set in the Lutes' column.

George Fox took the early lead in the second set, taking a 12-8 advantage when Eliza Pledger and Lyndsay Hovee stuffed a PLU attack at the net. The Lutes rallied with four straight points, including a pair of Joynt kills, and then at 14-14 they scored six straight points, five with Bjorkman serving, to take a 20-14 lead. With the score 24-22, Hanna finished the set with an emphatic kill.

Another six-point run by the Lutes proved decisive in the third set as PLU came back from a 5-4 deficit to go ahead 10-5. They pulled away to a 17-8 lead before Fox rallied behind Ali Toedtemeier's serve to make the score 18-14. After a PLU timeout, Hanna pounded down a kill and the Lutes went on to close out the sweep.

PLU returns to action at 7 p.m. Saturday when it hosts the Pacific Boxers in another Northwest Conference match.

- PLU -