SALEM, Ore. — The Pacific Lutheran University volleyball squad extended its win streak to seven on Saturday night, sweeping host Willamette University 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-21) inside the Cone Field House to maintain its hold atop the Northwest Conference standings.
The host Bearcats (4-6, 1-2 NWC) surged to a 4-1 lead in the opening set but the Lutes (11-2, 4-0 NWC) quickly answered, mobilizing a 7-1 run to take an 8-5 lead on a
Samia Rudd kill. Pacific Lutheran held the lead the rest of the set, scoring eight of the final 11 points including a
Julissa Pernsteiner kill to seal the 25-19 victory.
Willamette tallied seven of the first nine points on set two but PLU kept plugging away, tying the set at 11 on a Pernsteiner ace. The Bearcats led 16-12 but the Lutes battled back, including scoring eight of the final nine points for the 25-20 set win. Pernsteiner had three kills during the final run for the Lutes, including another set clinching kill.
PLU never trailed in the third set, collecting the first three points and seven of the first 10 but the Bearcats wouldn't make it easy, tying the set at 15-15. An
Alexis Eggert kill pushed the lead back to PLU, kicking off a 6-1 scoring run to force a Willamette timeout. The Bearcats responded, pulling within two at 23-21 but the Lutes' proved to be too much for the hosts with kills from
Ayre Takamoto and
Audrey Hansma delivering a 25-21 set win for the sweep.
The victory keeps PLU as the lone undefeated team in NWC play, having now won three of its four conference games in straight sets.
"It was awesome to come down and sweep a good Willamette team," said Head Coach
Kevin Aoki.
"We had to play with some different players tonight and I though we did quite well."
The Lutes capped off the night with 11 aces and a .220 hitting percentage as a squad.
Alexis Eggert paved the way with 15 kills and just one error, boasting a .467 hitting percentage. Pernsetiner had 11 kills with
Shaela Allen-Greggs adding a half dozen. Takamoto tallied 35 assists while
Macy Matsushima was all over the floor defensively with 20 digs.
Madi Mulipola had four aces with
Savanna Colliado dialing up three.
The Lutes are back in action on Friday, returning to Oregon for a showdown in McMinnville against Linfield University. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
