TACOMA – After being swept by No. 15 Wartburg in an early afternoon matchup, the Lutes fell to ninth-ranked tournament host Puget Sound 1-3, to compile an overall early season record of 1-3.
The Lutes return to action next Friday and Saturday when they participate in the ASICS National Invitational hosted by Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. Pacific Lutheran will play three matches, including their opening match against third-ranked Wittenburg.
Wartburg 3, PLU 0
The Lutes feel victim to a three-set sweep by Wartburg with scores of 24-26, 15-25 and 21-25. PLU was held to a .196 team attack percentage compared to Wartburg's .315. Lucy Capron led the Lutes with 12 kills including three service aces, while Amber Aguiar provided 13 digs and Samantha North collected 29 assists.
The first set featured 16 ties and 10 score changes with no team leading by more than four at any point. The Lutes rallied back from a 16-20 deficit, scoring five-straight points to take the lead 21-20. Wartburg responded by scoring six of the final nine points en route to a 26-24 set victory.
Wartburg pulled ahead in the second set taking an early 11-5 lead. The Lutes rallied back with a six-point effort to tie it up at 11 even. The Knights responded with their own six-point rally to pull ahead 16-12, but PLU was never able to regain the lead, falling 15-25 to the Knights.
In the third set, Pacific Lutheran once again found themselves trailing Wartburg as the Knights accounted for nine of the first 13 points. PLU put up a three-point effort before Wartburg took the next eight of 11 points to go ahead 17-10. The Lutes pulled as close as 20-21, but were unable to capture the lead, dropping the match with a 21-25 loss to the Knights in the third set.
Puget Sound 3, PLU 1
PLU found themselves having to rally from a deficit in each set against cross-town rival Puget Sound. Despite their efforts, PLU dropped the match to UPS by scores of 8-25, 25-22, 22-25 and 19-25. North collected 30 assists while Aguiar led with 19 digs.
For the Loggers, Jordan Bird dominated with 13 kills and a .440 attack percentage, while Jenni Brehove contributed 44 assists.
In the first set, UPS limited PLU to a -.176 team attack percentage while the Loggers hit .481. Samantha North was limited to only two assists, a set-low on the season. Puget Sound solidified the set victory with a score of 8-25, accounting for the first time this season that PLU was held to a single-digit set score.
The Lutes found their momentum in the second set as they rallied from a 3-6 deficit, scoring nine of the next 12 points to take the lead 12-9. The Loggers battled back, dominating the next 17 points by collecting 12 of them to relinquish the lead at 21-17. However, a late push by PLU helped them collect eight of the last nine points to clinch the set victory 25-22.
Both teams kept it tight during the first half or so of the third set with no team leading by more than four points at a time. Following a 9-9 tie, UPS pulled away with a five-point rally to take a 14-9 lead. The Lutes made another late drive to come within one point at a score of 22-23, but were unable to continue, dropping the set 22-25.
During the fourth set, Puget Sound once again pulled out in front early, taking eight of the first 11 points. Refusing to go down easily, the Lutes made a big push to pull ahead 12-9, scoring nine of the next 10 points. UPS fought back to push a 16-16 tie and never looked back from there, securing the set (19-25) and match victory over the Lutes.
North earned all-tournament honors.
