NEWBERG, Ore. — It wasn't easy but the Northwest Conference Champion Pacific Lutheran University volleyball team kept its streak alive on Friday night. The Lutes dropped the opening two sets of the night and trailed 12-7 in the decisive fifth set. But on both occasions, PLU refused to buckle. The Lutes ripped off the final eight points of the match, exiting the Wheeler Sports Center with a 3-2 (20-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-17, 15-12) victory over host George Fox University to extend their win streak to 15 matches.

The Lutes (16-7, 15-0 NWC) head into the regular season finale with a chance to become just the third PLU team, and first since 2009, to finish the conference slate undefeated. 

"Wow! What a match! George Fox played really well but credit to our team for staying the course. It was incredible to score eight in a row to close out the match. Attaway!" said Head Coach Kevin Aoki.

PLU was staring at a 12-7 deficit in the fifth set before a Claire Hindman kill touched off an 8-0 run to take the win. A Torie Takeuchi ace followed by kills from Hindman and Baylee Johnson forced a Bruin timeout. The reset didn't stop the bleeding for the home side with an attack error tying the set at 12-12. Hailey Iha collected back-to-back kills before a Hindman kill delivered the 15-12 victory to steal the match.

The Bruins (15-7, 11-4 NWC) used a 5-0 run midway through the first set to seize control, opening the match with a 25-20 victory. GFU jumped to an early lead in the second and never looked back, securing the set by an identical 25-20 scoreline. 

PLU never trailed in the third set, building an early lead and weathering a late Bruin rally. In the end it was an Iha kill that delivered the 25-19 victory.

The Lutes had a strong start and a furious finish in the fourth set to stay alive. PLU scored nine of the opening 12 points, including three kills from Elle Thomas. George Fox whittled the lead to just two points late in the set before another Thomas kill touched off a 6-0 run that eventually led to a 25-17 Lute win.

Thomas finished with a match-high 18 kills while Hindman registered 16 with an impressive .400 hitting percentage. Iha was the third Lute with double digit kills, finishing one shy of a dozen. Olivia Evaro had 51 of the team's 58 assists while also digging up 11 balls. Halle Hetzler had 24 digs on the night with Torie Takeuchi and Makenna Jackson adding 14 and 13, respectively. 

The Lutes close out the regular season on Saturday, facing Lewis & Clark College in Portland.