AUSTIN, Texas – The Pacific Lutheran University volleyball team closed out its Texas trip on Saturday, splitting a pair of matches at the Southwestern Invitational. The Lutes downed host Concordia University 3-1 (25-20, 26-28, 25-7, 25-14) in the opener before getting outlasted 3-2 (16-25, 25-17, 25-8, 23-25, 15-9) Texas Lutheran University.

"It was great to see the growth of the team the last two weekends," said Head Coach Kevin Aoki.

"34 sets in two weekends is a lot of volleyball that should prepare us for the Northwest Conference season that starts in two weeks."

In the opener, the host Tornados (2-4) took an early 3-1 lead in the opening set. A Claire Hindman kill tied the set before pushing ahead courtesy of a Kailee Efros-Bohn kill and a Hindman ace. PLU never trailed the rest of the set with an Alexis Eggert kill giving the Lutes' the 25-20 set victory.

Six of the first seven points of the second set went to PLU (4-4) but it wouldn't be that easy with Concordia storming back and taking the lead at 11-10. It would be a nailbiter the rest of the way with the Tornados getting two late kills to escape with the 28-26 set win.

PLU led wire-to-wire in the third, surging ahead with 18 of the opening 22 points in a blowout 25-7 set win. The Lutes opened the fourth set on an 8-1 run, leading wire-to-wire in a 25-14 victory to wrap up the match.

Efros-Bohn led the Lute offense with 10 kills with Shaela Allen-Greggs adding nine. Ayre Takamoto had 34 assists and 14 digs while Makenna Jackson had a team-best six aces and 15 digs. Julissa Pernsteiner had six blocks while Macy Matsushima had 14 digs.

Against Texas Lutheran (4-2), PLU utilized a 7-0 run to take a 14-8 advantage in the opening set. That run saw Matsushima serve up a pair of aces while also getting two kills from Hindman. PLU led the rest of the set with a Hindman kill giving the Lutes the 25-16 win.

The Bulldogs never trailed in the second set, securing seven of the set's first 10 points and cruising to the 25-17 win. TLU surged to a 9-1 lead in the third on its way to a 25-8 set win.

The two squads were tied at 22 in the fourth set before PLU scored three of the final four points, getting a service ace from Noe Feliciano and a set clinching kill from Efros-Bohn to force a decisive fifth set.

The fifth set was tied at 3-3 before TLU scored seven straight points. An Efros-Bohn kill narrowed the gap to 10-8 but the Bulldogs would score five of the next six points to escape with the 15-9 set win to steal the match.

Efros-Bohn again led the Lutes attack with 13 kills with Pernsteiner adding eight kills and five blocks. Takamoto tallied 35 assists and 13 digs with Jackson netting a team-high 33 digs and Matsushima adding 16 digs and five aces.

The Lutes open up their home slate on Friday, hosting Columbia Bible College at 7 p.m. inside Olson Gymnasium.

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