By Maddie Bernard, PLU Sports Information Student Writer
PARKLAND – It took five sets and a total of 14 extra points, but the Pacific Lutheran volleyball team defeated Lewis & Clark comeback fashion Friday night at Names Family Court.
The Lutes lost the first two matches with set scores of 28-26, and 25-23, but seven straight points to close the third set gave them a 25-22 win. They followed that with a 25-18 fourth-set win before holding off the Pioneers 21-19 in the decisive fifth set. Lute fans were on their feet cheering for the final 10 minutes as Lewis & Clark battled off four PLU match point opportunities and the Lutes fought off two for L&C before scoring the final three points to earn the come-from-behind win.
"Wow, what a match for the ages!" PLU head coach Kevin Aoki said. "It was a great comeback by our team. Hopefully we can use this to gain momentum for the rest of the season."
The fifth set was a nail-biter and kept Lute fans on the edge of their seats. The set went five points into overtime and saw eight tie scores and five lead changes. Following the trend of the night, Lewis & Clark built an early lead as the Pioneers scored the first three points and took an 8-5 advantage into the midpoint of the set. PLU came back with a five-point streak to take a two-point lead. From there the teams exchanged points until PLU reached 14-12, sending the crowd to its feet for match point.
Lewis & Clark scored the next two to tie it at 14-14, and after a kill by Mackenzie Harris the Pioneers scored two more to give the Pioneers the match-point advantage. Two straight for PLU again gave the Lutes a chance to close it out, but the visitors again scored twice to take the lead. An L&C service error tied it at 18, but PLU returned the favor to fall behind 19-18. That was it for the Pioneers, however, as three straight attack errors – including a block by Michaela Edgers and Gabrielle Alley – clinched the 21-19 win for the Lutes to cap the comeback.
The match was close throughout with 29 tie scores and 17 lead changes as Lewis & Clark regularly built early leads before PLU rallied back. The first set saw seven tie scores and five lead changes before the Lutes fell in extra points 28-26. PLU earned the first three points of the set, but Lewis & Clark came back with an eight-point streak to take a five-point lead. PLU battled back to tie it up at 12-12 as part of a run that gave the Lutes a 16-13 lead. The Lutes actually went ahead 21-17 on kills by Harris and Roshel Muzzal, but Lewis & Clark scored four of the next five to tie it at 22. PLU fought off a set-point opportunity for L&C with a kill by Edgers, and Kendle Valade-Nunez's third service ace of the set made it 25-24 PLU, but the Pioneers scored three of the next four to clinch the opening win.
Lewis & Clark started the second set strong, scoring the first three points and building a 9-3 lead. The Lutes came back to tie up the set 15-15, from that point neither team led by more than two the rest of the set. PLU's final lead came at 22-21 following a three-point streak, but Lewis & Clark finished the game strong with four of the final five points to earn the 25-23 win.
It looked like the Pioneers were going to take the third set, as they had a consistent three-to-four-point lead for the majority and were three points away from the match sweep at 22-18 following a PLU service error. The Lutes did not give up, and held the Pioneers at 22 points as they came back from 18 to tie it up. A kill by Harris sparked a seven-point PLU run that included consecutive PLU blocks as the Lutes extended the match with their longest run of the night.
The fourth set saw only three tie scores and two lead changes. Any momentum PLU had from its set-ending seven-point streak ended as the Pioneers scored the first four points. From then it was mostly PLU, as the Lutes scored seven of the next eight points and didn't allow Lewis & Clark to regain the lead the rest of the way. The Lutes kept gaining momentum, and the Pioneers could not keep up as PLU scored six of the final eight points to win 25-18 and force the deciding fifth set.
Harris and Edgers tied to lead the Lutes with 15 kills each as Edgers hit .414 for the night and added seven blocks. Chloe Epker added 11 kills and Muzzall totaled 10. Valade-Nunez set a career-best with 56 assists, while Kylai Cooley led the Lutes with 26 digs. Julia Somers finished the night with a match-best 22 kills for the Pioneers, while Alie Carleton added 10.
The Lutes are now 7-4 in conference play and 13-7 overall. They play at home on Saturday against Pacific at 7 pm.
