By Maddie Bernard, PLU Sports Information Student Writer

PORTLAND – The Pacific Lutheran University volleyball team fell to Lewis & Clark Friday night in a competitive four-set match, including set scores of 13-25, 25-23, 25-23 and 25-23 at Pamplin Sports Center.

The loss dropped PLU to 1-2 in Northwest Conference play and 7-5 overall, as Lewis & Clark improved to 3-0 in conference play and 6-4 overall with the Pioneers' first win against PLU since 2011.

The Lutes came out strong in the first set, pulling away from the Pioneers early 6-1. PLU continued to build momentum, holding a 15-point lead during one point in the set. PLU earned 23 points before Lewis & Clark reached double digits. The Lutes closed out the win on consecutive L&C attack errors.

While it looked like it was going to be an easy match for PLU after the first set, the Pioneers fought back and made it a tough match for the next three. The second set was a battle for every point, and the set saw 14 tie scores and nine lead changes. The Lutes started off strong with momentum from the previous set, but the Pioneers had a five-point streak and took the lead 9-6. While PLU worked to tie it up, Lewis & Clark kept pushing forward, earning the key tiebreaker points, which helped the Pioneers to win the set 23-25. Lewis & Clark scored the final three points of the set.

The battle picked up where it left off in the third, with 10 tie scores and four lead changes. The first half of the set was a point-for-point struggle, but the Pioneers pulled up 13-9 off a five-point streak. They held the steady lead until the Lutes came back to tie it up 19-19 following kills by Lucy Capron and Kendle Valade-Nunez. Lewis & Clark scored three of the next four and took a 24-21 set point advantage that PLU fought off for consecutive points before Lewis & Clark closed it out 25-23.

The Pioneers took an early 7-2 lead in the fourth set, and held a consistent lead over the Lutes until PLU came back to tie it up at 18-18 on a kill by Michaela Edgers. The Lutes actually took a brief 22-21 lead, but three straight Pioneer points gave the hosts a match-point advantage and one point later Lewis & Clark closed out its third straight 25-23 victory.

As a team, the Lutes out-hit the Pioneers .152-to-.103, and Capron tallied a double-double with 15 kills and 19 digs. Chloe Epker followed with 14 kills, while Valade-Nunez earned eight kills and 35 assists. Edgers, Roshel Muzzall, and Kacey Hartman each had two blocks, and Kylai Cooley had 13 digs.

PLU head coach Kevin Aoki believed the Lutes just lost momentum after the first set, saying that "Lewis & Clark played a great game after the first. We hung in there, but couldn't get over the hump."

The Lutes continue conference play on Saturday, traveling to face Pacific at 7 p.m. in Forest Grove, Ore.