TACOMA, Wash. — There was no Saturday night letdown for the defending Northwest Conference Champion Pacific Lutheran University volleyball team.
Shaela Allen-Greggs had 11 kills and
Kailee Efros-Bohn added 10 as the Lutes made quick work of visiting Willamette University, dispatching the Bearcats 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-12) inside Olson Gymnasium.
The Lutes (7-4, 2-0 NWC) came out of the gates swinging, building an early 5-0 lead on the serve of
Ayre Takamoto. The Bearcats (2-9, 1-2 NWC) wouldn't go down without a fight, with the opening set featuring 13 lead changes and six ties. Willamette led 23-22 but the Lutes scored the final three to take the set, getting a kill from Allen-Greggs and a set clinching block from
Alexis Eggert.
Willamette led 11-10 in the second set but Pacific Lutheran scored 10 of the next 12.
Julissa Pernsteiner closed the books on the Bearcats in the second set with a clinching kill to give PLU the 25-17 set win.
The Bearcats led 10-8 in the third only to see the Lutes rip off 11 consecutive points, including four aces and a kill from Pernsteiner. PLU was on cruise control from there with an Efros-Bohn kill cementing a 25-12 set win for the squad's third straight three-set sweep.
The victory ups PLU's home winning streak to 19 matches while also upping its NWC regular season winning streak to 18 as well.
"It was a great match for us tonight. We settled down and got into our Lute volleyball rhythm after the first set. We're looking forward to our match with UPS on Tuesday," said Head Coach
Kevin Aoki.
Allen-Greggs had 11 kills on 29 attacks while Efros-Bohn boasted a .250 hitting percentage to go along with her double-digit kill count. Takamoto had 31 assists and four aces while
Makenna Jackson had a match-high 28 digs.
The Lutes close out the homestand on Tuesday night, hosting crosstown nemesis University of Puget Sound. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
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