Contact: Mark Albanese, Director of Sports Communication

MCMINNVILLE, Ore. - The Pacific Lutheran University volleyball team and Linfield College traded jabs all night before the host Wildcats delivered the knockout on Friday evening, edging the Lutes 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 25-17, 10-25, 16-14) in a Northwest Conference showdown inside Ted Wilson Gymnasium.

The Lutes (12-11, 10-5 NWC) collected four of the opening set's first five points but the host Wildcats (12-9, 7-8 NWC) buckled down and came away with the 25-21 set win.

Linfield collected seven of the first nine points in the second set before PLU rallied, scoring four of the set's final five points,including three off Wildcat errors to earn the 25-22 win. Linfield led wire-to-wire in a 25-17 win in the third before the Lutes returned the favor in the fourth, scoring the final five points and running away with the 25-10 win to force a decisive fifth.

PLU raced to a 7-3 lead in the third only to surrender the next five points, tipping the scales in Linfield's favor. The Wildcats never trailed the rest of the way, squeaking out the 16-14 win to secure the match.

Chloe Epker led the attack with 12 kills with Isabella Zubrod and Roshel Donwen both adding 10. Madi Collier and Kiana Calles collected 24 and 22 assists, respectively while defensively Caylie Shiramizu added 22 digs. Gabrielle Alley had 19 digs while Epker had 10 to secure the double-double.

"It was another epic battle with Linfield," said Head Coach Kevin Aoki. "We played good but we started too slow. I love the fight in the team and look forward to another challenge at Pacific to close out the year."

Pacific Lutheran caps off 2016 on Saturday, facing host Pacific University at 5 p.m.