MCMINNVILLE, Ore. — The Pacific Lutheran University volleyball team extended its win streak to eight on Friday night inside Ted Wilson Gymnasium, rolling past host Linfield University 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-19) to remain in first place in the Northwest Conference standings.
The host Wildcats (6-6, 3-2 NWC) tallied three of the opening four points of the match but the Lutes (12-2, 5-0 NWC) responded with five straight, including two kills from
Alexis Eggert to stake a 6-3 lead. Linfield tied the opening set at 22 but a Wildcat service error followed by an
Ayre Takamoto ace and an Eggert kill gave the Lutes the 25-22 set win.
Pacific Lutheran scored seven of the first nine in the second set and built a 20-14 lead off a
Je T'aime Paio ace. Linfield narrowed the gap to a single point but the Lutes took control from there, scoring the final five points of the set, including a clinching kill from
Shaela Allen-Greggs for the 25-19 set win.
PLU conceded the opening point of the third set but quickly scored the next three and never looked back, cementing the match win on a block from Paio and
Julissa Pernsteiner to claim the 25-19 set win.
The first place Lutes have now won four of their five league games in straight sets and have won 15 of the 16 sets played in NWC action.
Allen-Greggs led the Lute offense with a dozen kills, boasting a .346 attack percentage while Eggert had 10 kills. Takamoto tallied 27 assists, eight digs, and four aces with Paio collecting a team-leading nine digs on the night.
"It was a good sweep against a much improved Linfield team. It was a tough environment to play in with their crowd and pep band and we're looking forward to our match with Lewis & Clark tomorrow," said Head Coach
Kevin Aoki.
The Lutes close their road trip tomorrow at 6 p.m. with a match against Lewis & Clark College in Portland.
