Oct. 7, 2006

Lutes Take Sole Possession of Conference Lead

Match Statistics

(Courtesy of Linfield Sports Information Office)

Kati McGinn - 29 kills for Lutes

McMINNVILLE, Ore. - Pacific Lutheran middle blocker Kati McGinn hammered 29 kills to power the unranked Lutes to a five-game upset of No. 6 Linfield Friday night inside noisy Ted Wilson Gymnasium.

The scores were 20-30, 30-27, 30-28, 19-30, 15-10.

With first place in the Northwest Conference riding on the outcome, the draining two-hour and 15-minute match played out as a defensive gem.

PLU (13-4, 7-0) ended a three-match series losing streak to the Wildcats, handing Linfield (13-1, 6-1 NWC) its first loss of the season. For the Lutes, it was their eighth consecutive victory.

McGinn's offense, combined with 106 digs and six team blocks by the Lutes (13-4, 7-0 NWC) paved the way for the spirited victory. Kelcy Joynt added a dozen kills and nine digs and Megan Kosel registered a match-high 38 digs for the Lutes.

Wildcats middle blocker Lauren Kreiger totaled a season-high 18 kills and dug 18 balls. Chelsey Gellatly passed out 49 assists and libero Hannah Veley recorded 28 digs of Linfield’s 110 digs. Linfield hit .155 at the net to the Lutes’ .108.

Linfield cruised to an easy victory in the first game, jumping in front by double digits, 14-3, to begin the contest. The Lutes whittled the deficit to five, 19-14, following a Joynt kill. But the Wildcats got three kills from Katelyn Baker down the stretch to prevail 30-20. Baker finished with eight kills for the ‘Cats but was riddled with a team-high seven attack errors.

Megan Kosel - match-high 38 digs

The second game was much tighter with neither squad gaining the early upper hand. Trailing by five, 24-19, the Lutes capitalized on three kills each from Joynt and McGinn to even the match.

PLU took a two-games-to-one lead, coming from six points down to pull out a hard-fought victory in the third stanza. Linfield led 17-11 before the Lutes rallied to tie the game at 23 on McGinn's kill. Consecutive kills by McGinn, Joynt and Stacie Matz sealed the result in the visitors' favor, 30-28.

The Wildcats reasserted themselves in the fourth frame, building a 14-8 advantage midway through the set. PLU crept to within five, 20-15, before Linfield pulled away for good, forcing a deciding game.

Three McGinn kills and a Wildcats ball-handing error allowed PLU to pull away from an 8-all deadlock in the pivotal fifth game. Trailing 12-8, the Wildcats called timeout and attempted to regroup. The Lutes kept the pressure on, finally winning the game and match on a backhanded kill by setter Gina DiMaggio.