By Maddie Bernard, PLU Sports Information Student Writer
PARKLAND – Coming in to serve the final two points after a five-match break due to injury, senior Lucy Capron sealed the Pacific Lutheran volleyball team's four-set victory over Willamette Friday night with a match-winning service ace.
"It was great to see Lucy come in and serve the last two balls even though she is hurt," PLU head coach Kevin Aoki said. "It wasn't appearance; we needed her right there to serve the ball, and to end with an ace was great."
The Lutes defeated the Bearcats in a competitive four set match with scores of 25-16, 23-25, 25-20, and 25-20. The team was encouraged by a huge crowd of enthusiastic Lute fans wearing costumes to show their pre-Halloween spirit. The match held some of the longest rallies PLU has seen this season, and it was a battle from start to finish.
"It was a tough game," middle blocker Mackenzie Harris said. "But we pulled together as a team and played really well. We fought it out and ended up point-for-point, but we pulled through."
The Lutes kept a consistent two-point lead over the Bearcats in the first set after an early 9-9 tie. PLU held Willamette at 15 points while the Lutes marched to set point with a six-point streak with kills from Michaela Edgers, Kendle Valade-Nunez and Gabrielle Alley. Valade-Nunez's fifth kill of the set sealed the 25-16 win for the Lutes.
PLU started the second set strong, shutting out Willamette to score the first five points. The Lutes held a strong lead most of the set, seeing only three tie scores. However, the Bearcats fought back to close the gap and tied up the game 21-21. Sarah Fincher scored two of the final three points for Willamette as the Bearcats took three of the final four points to even the match with a 25-23 set victory.
The third set was a battle, seeing 13 tie scores and six lead changes. PLU stayed with Willamette for the first 12 points and took a 14-12 lead before the Bearcats used a five-point streak to go up 17-14. A Willamette attack error ended the streak, and PLU proceeded to score 11 of the next 14 points to pull away to the 25-20 win.
The first half of the fourth set was another nail-biter, seeing some extended saves and rallies from both sides. The set had five tie scores and four lead changes, but the Lutes used a five-point streak to turn a 13-11 deficit into a 16-13 advantage. PLU held a lead of at least two points for the rest of the match. Although Willamette did not let up, PLU scored the final three points to finish and took the match with a service ace from Capron.
For the Lutes, Alley led with a career high of 14 kills and a .379 attack percentage. Roshel Muzzall added 12 kills and five blocks, and Edgers tallied 10 kills and seven blocks. Valade-Nunez led the match with 46 assists, while Kylai Cooley totaled 28 digs.
Alexa Dowdell led the match with 16 kills for the Bearcats with Fincher behind with 13 to surpass 1,000 for her collegiate career. Taylor Lum had five blocks and Kalen Higa had 25 digs.
"It was one of our more consistent matches this year," Aoki said.
The win puts PLU at a 9-4-conference record with a 15-7 overall record and moves the Lutes ahead of Willamette for second place in the NWC standings. The Lutes return to their home court Saturday at 7 p.m. for a Senior Night matchup against George Fox.
