FOREST GROVE, Ore. -- The Pacific Lutheran University volleyball team opened up its Oregon road swing on the right foot on Friday evening, picking up a 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-19) victory over George Fox University to remain in first place in the Northwest Conference standings.
The visiting Lutes  (15-3, 8-1 NWC) held a slim 10-7 edge in the opening set before scoring 10 of the next 13, doubling up the Boxers (2-15, 1-9 NWC) on a run that included consecutive aces from
Ayre Takamoto and a block from
Mary Magoun and
Alexis Eggert to make it 20-10 PLU. That duo made sure the Lutes stayed in front the rest of the set, accounting for the final two kills in a 25-14 set win.
PLU led wire-to-wire in the second set after scoring the first five points and eight of the first 10.
Macy Matsushima played a big role in the fast start, serving up three aces during the opening run. The host Boxers pulled within one point on several occasions but it wasn't enough as PLU answered each time, emerging with a 25-19 set win.
The scales tipped in favor of Pacific early in the third set with the hosts holding a 15-11 lead before the Lutes ripped off 10 of the next 11. Pacific Lutheran led the rest of the way with a bad set sealing set three 25-19 in favor of the Lutes for the sweep.
"It was a great win against a much improved Pacific team," said Head Coach
Kevin Aoki.
"I though we served the ball well tonight and any win on the road is a good result in a tough league like the NWC."
PLU finished the night with 13 aces, including five from Matsushima and four from Takamoto. Eggert led the way with 10 kills with a .318 attack percentage along with four blocks while
Shaela Allen-Greggs and Magoun both had eight kills. Takamoto tallied 32 assists with Matsushima leading the way with 23 digs while
Je T'aime Paio added 10.
This is the second 3-0 sweep of Pacific this fall for the Lutes, downing the Boxers by the same score in the NWC opening weekend inside Olson Gymnasium back on Sept. 19.
PLU is back in action tomorrow afternoon, facing George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon.
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