TACOMA, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University volleyball squad returned to the win column on Saturday, pleasing the Homecoming crowd inside Olson Gymnasium with a 3-1 (25-23, 25-15, 22-25, 25-19) victory over Northwest Conference rival Whitman College.
The visiting Blues (7-7, 5-3 NWC) scored the opening four points of the match and eight of the first nine. Trailing by four, the Lutes (14-3, 7-1 NWC) ripped off five straight, taking the lead for the first time at 15-14 on a block by
Alexis Eggert and
Samia Rudd. Little would separate the Washington rivals the rest of the set. With Whitman leading 22-21, the Lutes scored three straight and four of the next five, stealing the opening set 25-23.
It was all Lutes in set two, scoring six of the first eight and building an early 15-7 lead. The Lutes kept their foot on the gas, scoring the final three points, including an
Ayre Takamoto kill for a 25-15 victory. PLU had 17 kills during the second set with just one error, boasting an impressive .457 hitting percentage.
Whitman avoided the sweep in the third, scoring the final three points to stay alive with a 25-22 set win.
Pacific Lutheran led 6-5 in the fourth set before scoring five straight points, building an 11-5 advantage off a
Julissa Pernsteiner kill. The Blues rallied and tied the set at 14 but the Lutes answered with seven of the next eight.
Shaela Allen-Greggs capped off the night with a kill, giving PLU the 25-19 set win to secure the match and keep pace with Whitworth University at the top of the NWC standings.
"It was a great bounce back win tonight over a much improved Whitman team," said Head Coach
Kevin Aoki.
"We're excited to be tied for first as we head into the second round of NWC play. It will be a batlle and we fully expect it to come down to the wire."
Allen-Greggs led the Lutes with 14 kills while Pernsteiner and
Mary Magoun added 13 and 12, respectively. The offense flowed through
Ayre Takamoto who had 44 assists along with 16 digs.
Macy Matsushima led the team with 28 digs while
Je T'aime Paio had five aces and 12 digs. Eggert was a force at the net with six blocks on the evening.
The Lutes are back in action on Friday night, traveling to Forest Grove, Ore. to face Pacific University. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
