TACOMA – PLU volleyball opened the 2014 season 2-0 at the Puget Sound Premier Tournament on Friday. The Lutes took a 3-1 victory over the Bethel Royals with set scores of 20-25, 25-21, 25-13 and 25-16 before sweeping Corban in the afternoon matchup. PLU topped the Warriors 25-22, 25-15 and 25-19.
The Lutes continue play on Saturday at 10 a.m. taking on Oregon Institute of Technology before closing the tournament with a match against cross-town rival and tournament-host Puget Sound at 2 p.m. Live stats will be available on www.golutes.com for the afternoon matchup against the Loggers.
PLU 3, Bethel 1
PLU saw a rocky start in the first set against Bethel, posting a -.073 team attack percentage and falling to the Royals 20-25. Momentum built in the second set as the Lutes went on to take the next three on their way to a 3-1 match victory.
The Lutes dominated the third set, scoring 12 of the first 13 points and continuing on to take the set 25-13. The fourth set remained fairly close until an eight point PLU rally allowed the Lutes to jump ahead 21-9, eventually taking the win 25-16.
Newcomer Kylai Cooley, a Bellevue College junior transfer, tallied 13 kills for the Lutes, senior setter Samantha North contributed 36 assists and senior libero Amber Aguiar totaled 24 digs. Junior Lucy Capron contributed nine kills while Michaela Edgers accounted for eight.
PLU 3, Corban 0
Following a 7-7 tie in the first set, PLU scored 10 of the next 12 points to pull ahead 17-9. The Warriors battled back, taking advantage of four consecutive errors by the Lutes to bring them within three points. PLU would eventually hang on to take the set victory 25-22.
The second set featured an impressive .438 team attack percentage by the Lute offense, which led them to the 25-15 victory. Both teams battled it out in the third and final set, keeping things close with the score at 13-12, but PLU would take 12 of the final 19 points to secure the 25-19 set victory and complete the sweep.
Cooley and Capron led the Lute offense, combining for 25 kills. North directed the team with 49 assists while Aguiar tallied 20 digs.
