By Maddie Bernard, PLU Sports Information Student Writer
PARKLAND – Lucy Capron made her final home match one to remember, as the senior outside hitter put together one of the most dominant performances in Pacific Lutheran volleyball history in leading the Lutes to a four-set victory over cross-town rival Puget Sound Wednesday night at Names Family Court.
Capron posted 10 kills in the opening set and finished the night with 28, tying for the second-most kills in a four-set match in PLU volleyball history. Capron tied Beth Hanna, who tallied 28 in a match during the 2007 season, while the program record of 30 belongs to Beth Jayne during the 1996 season.
Capron also tallied 13 digs, three assists, two blocks and two service aces while hitting .471 for the night. Wednesday's performance follows a 20-20 night for Capron on Saturday against George Fox, when she totaled 21 kills and 20 digs after returning from missing five matches due to injury.
"Honestly, I'm just so happy to be back on the court," Capron said after Wednesday's win. "After sitting for three weeks, its God's grace that is getting me through these games."
As a team, the Lutes hit a season-best .312 in winning the match by scores of 25-15, 24-26, 25-12 and 25-18. That gave PLU a season sweep of the rival Loggers for the second straight year, as the Lutes have now won six straight matches against UPS.
"Wow, Lucy on a hurt leg, and Chloe Epker had a great night as well," PLU head coach Kevin Aoki said. "What a night for the Lutes."
Epker hit .385 and totaled 18 kills for the Lutes, while Kendle Valade-Nunez picked up 52 assists to go with 15 digs and five kills on a .385 percentage. Michaela Edgers finished the night with seven blocks, while Kylai Cooley totaled 24 digs. PLU limited Puget Sound to an .061 attack percentage for the night.
The first half of set one was a battle as the Loggers took a quick 5-1 lead before PLU rallied back to tie it at 13-13. Puget Sound's final lead of the set came at 15-14, and a kill by Epker sparked an 11-point PLU run to clinch the set. That run included six kills by Capron, including four straight for the senior at one point, and her 10th kill of the set closed out the 25-15 win.
UPS again came out strong in the second set, opening with two straight aces and scoring six straight points to take an 11-6 lead. Even after a PLU timeout the two teams traded points until UPS held a 15-10 advantage. However, PLU chipped away at the lead, eventually tying the score up 20-20. The Loggers pulled ahead once again, 23-21, but the Lutes scored the next three points to claim a set-point advantage following a kill by Epker. A Logger timeout gave way to three straight points for UPS to even up the match at one set apiece.
The Lutes dominated the third set, only letting the Loggers score seven points by the time they had earned 20. The Loggers could not stop the Lutes momentum, and PLU continued to expand its lead to win the set 25-12 on a service ace from Roshel Muzzall.
The first 30 points of the fourth set were a back-and-forth battle that included 14 tie scores and five lead changes. The final tie score came at 17-17, as PLU used a seven-point run to turn a 17-16 deficit into a 23-17 lead. That run included Capron's second four-point streak of the night, and after a UPS point made it 23-18 Capron picked up her 28th and final kill to push the Lutes to match point. A UPS attack error closed out the night for the PLU win.
The Lutes play their final regular season match Friday at Linfield at 7 p.m.
