Oct. 19, 2007

PLU Ties School Record with 15th Consecutive Volleyball Win

Beth Hanna (file photo)

Box Score

PARKLAND, Wash. – Pacific Lutheran tied a school record with its 15th consecutive volleyball victory as it defeated visiting George Fox, 30-15, 32-30, 30-23, in a Northwest Conference match played Friday night in Olson Auditorium.

The 2007 Lutes (19-3, 12-0 NWC) tied the record initially set by the 2004 team that went on to win the conference championship. They have a chance to establish a new record for consecutive wins when they host Whitman at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, in Olson Auditorium.

Not only did the win tie a record, it also moved the Lutes one step closer to their second straight conference championship – they shared the NWC crown with Linfield in 2006 – and their third in the last four seasons. PLU, ranked No. 15 in the national coaches poll, is unbeaten in 12 conference matches with four remaining. Both Puget Sound and Linfield came into Friday night’s action three behind the Lutes in the loss column.

Trailing 10-8 in the first game, the Lutes went on an 18-1 run to take a comfortable 26-11 lead. The Lutes got the serve and a point on one of Beth Hanna’s eight first-game kills, and Megan Kosel then served for nine straight points. Hanna had two kills and Kosel had two of her four first-game service aces during the run.

The second game was much different, however, as the underdog Bruins battled the Lutes before finally succumbing. The Lutes actually took an 8-3 lead after a pair of Bruins attack errors, but George Fox (9-9 overall, 4-7 NWC), ran off 13 of the next 18 points to go ahead, 16-13. The teams stayed within three points of each other, and the Lutes eventually tied it at 26-all on another service ace by Kosel. The Bruins responded by scoring the next three points on kills by Elizabeth Anderson, Sarah Crossfield and a PLU attack error.

Gina Di Maggio

As they have throughout the season, however, the Lutes battled back to win the game. A George Fox service error opened the door, and the Lutes ran through it as Gina Di Maggio and Abby Mitchel each had a kill and Hanna added three more to finish the game.

In the third game, George Fox took an 11-5 lead as Natalie Pickett had a pair of kills and Sarah Burkey two of her team-high three service aces. The Lutes earned a side out and then ran off five straight points on Di Maggio’s serve to tie it at 11-11. From there, the Lutes gradually pulled away, and they eventually ended it on a kill by Hanna.

The Lutes hit .250 as a team, including an impressive .444 in the first game. Hanna, the freshman outside hitter from Clackamas, Ore., had 16 of her match-high 19 kills in the first two games. Matz added 13 kills for PLU, which also got 42 assists from Di Maggio and 18 digs and five aces from Kosel.

For George Fox, Elizabeth Anderson had a team-high seven kills, while Jessica Morrison and Pickett both had six. Pickett had a strong game with six kills and no errors on 13 attempts, a .462 attack percentage. Ashley Sheller came off the bench to contribute five kills and a team-high 14 digs.

- PLU -