A lot can change in 24 hours, just ask the Pacific Lutheran and
Puget Sound volleyball teams.
PLU took the measure of the Loggers on Friday, but it was UPS
that came back from two sets down to beat the Lutes in the Puget
Sound Premier Tournament championship match on Saturday afternoon
at the UPS Fieldhouse.
The No. 13-ranked Lutes advanced to the title match with
three-set sweeps of a trio of nationally ranked opponents - No. 10
St. Benedict (Minn.), No. 19 Puget Sound, and No. 25 Simpson
(Iowa). Puget Sound beat St. Ben and Simpson to earn a shot at
revenge against the Lutes, and it got just that.
Puget Sound 3, PLU 2 / Box Score
PLU rallied to win the opening set, 26-24, and then the
tournament championship seemed well within grasp after a 25-20
victory in the second set. Puget Sound rallied back, nipping the
Lutes 25-23 in the third set and then taking a 25-19 win in the
fourth set to force a deciding fifth set. The Loggers raced out to
the early lead to take a 15-9 win and with it the tournament
trophy.
Beth Hanna had a big match for the Lutes with a match-high
24 kills and she also tied Brenna Archibald with 22 digs. Kelcy
Joynt added 10 kills and Sarah Beaver had 46 assists for PLU,
but the offensive balance that had been so decisive in their three
tournament wins eluded the Lutes in this contest.
PLU 3, Simpson 0 / Box Score
In a match played Saturday morning, the Lutes rolled past the
No. 25-ranked Storm, 25-14, 25-18, 25-22, as Hanna knocked down 15
kills. A total of eight different players recorded kills for the
Lutes, who got 32 assists from Sarah Beaver and 11 digs from Brenna
Archibald. The Lutes hit .198 during the match.
Hanna, Beaver and Joynt were named to the all-tournament team.