PARKLAND – One night after an emotional five-set comeback victory, the Pacific Lutheran volleyball team took care of business with a three-set sweep of Pacific Saturday evening at Names Family Court.
The win marked the 26th in a row for Pacific Lutheran over Pacific stretching back to the 2003 season and was the seventh time in the last eight meetings between the teams that PLU claimed a win in only three sets. PLU improved to 14-7 overall and 8-4 in conference play with the set victories of 25-18, 25-23 and 25-20, while Pacific fell to 8-12 overall and 5-7 in the NWC.
"I thought the Lutes played pretty consistent volleyball tonight," PLU head coach Kevin Aoki said. "We didn't know how they were going to react after the emotional comeback victory last night, so it was nice to take them down in three because last night's match took a lot from us emotionally."
PLU finished the match with a .226-to-.154 hitting percentage advantage over Pacific, as a balanced attack saw seven Lutes compile between four and seven kills. Michaela Edgers hit .389 while tying Gabrielle Alley for the team lead with seven kills apiece, with Edgers adding six blocks in the win. Marie Rewick led Pacific with a double-double, totaling 15 kills and 15 digs for the Boxers.
While the final score appeared one-sided, it was a close match throughout most of the night as the contest featured 17 total tie scores and 10 lead changes. After PLU scored the first two points of the opening set, Pacific used an 8-2 run to build an early four-point lead. Four straight PLU points tied the score, and after two Pacific points the Lutes scored six of the next seven to claim a three-point advantage. From there the teams exchanged points for a few minutes before PLU slowly began to pull away, closing out the 25-18 win with a 5-2 run.
The second set again saw Pacific open an early 8-4 lead, and again the Lutes scored four in a row to tie it at 8-8. This time Pacific stuck with the Lutes, a five-point Pacific run gave the Boxers a 15-11 lead that they would later match at 18-14 and again at 20-16. A kill by Alley ended that run for Pacific, however, and sparked a six-point PLU streak that put the Lutes up two. A Roshel Muzzall service ace gave the Lutes a set-point opportunity at 24-21 before Pacific scored two straight to make it a one-point match. Kendle Valade-Nunez clinched the 25-23 win with a kill for the Lutes.
While the third set also included early leads by Pacific, this time the Boxers never led by more than one point as they held their final lead at 7-6 following three straight points. Three straight PLU points gave the Lutes a two-point advantage and played into a larger 11-2 run that put the Lutes in control 17-9. Pacific again refused to go quietly, working its way back to four points down, but a Boxer attack error ended the match and gave the Lutes the 25-20 victory.
PLU sits in third place in the NWC standings, two games behind Whitworth (10-2) and one behind Willamette (9-3). The Lutes will have their chance at the Bearcats next weekend, when they host Willamette on Friday and George Fox on Senior Day Saturday at 7 p.m. both days. For now, they'll enjoy the emotional Friday win and the more textbook Saturday follow-up.
"We can kind of relax tomorrow, go costume bowling on Monday and be ready for our next three home games," Aoki said.
