Oct. 13, 2007

PLU Volleyball Takes Pioneers in Four Games

Gina Di Maggio - 57 assists

Beth Hanna - 28 kills

Box Score

PORTLAND, Ore. - Pacific Lutheran continued its winning ways in Northwest Conference volleyball action, defeating the Lewis & Clark Pioneers, 26-30, 30-23, 30-25, 30-22, on Saturday night.

With the victory, their 13th straight, the Lutes improve to 10-0 in the NWC and 17-3 overall. The PIoneers are now 6-14 overall and 2-8 against conference opponents.

In game one, the Pioneers took advantage of key PLU errors and a block by Katherine Fiedler and Andrea Chase to break a 16-16 tie and edge out to a 19-16 lead. With the Pioneers clinging to a 24-22 lead, scored five straight points on an ace and four more Lute errors to take a 29-22 lead. The Lutes rallied back, aided by Sarah Beaver's two kills, to make it a 29-26 match until Sara Kettler closed out the frame for the Pioneers with a kill.

In game two, the Lutes broke an 8-8 tie and went on an 9-2 run to take control. Down 28-20, the Pioneers had a late surge to pull within five, 28-23, but Stacie Matz closed the game with a kill to earn the 30-23 victory.

Game three was close until a kill by Matz earned a sideout for the Lutes and gave them the serve and needed momentum, trailing 14-13. By the time the Pioneers got a sideout on a kill by Katherine Fiedler, PLU led 21-15. A kill by Beth Hanna secured the 30-25 victory for PLU.

In game four, a kill by Hanna followed by back-to-back aces by Megan Kosel put momentum in the Lutes' favor, giving them a 14-10 lead, a lead they extended to 18-12. The Pioneers rallied to within one at 19-18, but a pair of kills by Matz extended the Lutes' lead to 23-18, and they closed out the match with a kill from Hanna.

Hanna had a dominant game with 28 kills and 19 digs. She also had a pair of block assists and a service ace. Matz contributed 18 kills and 15 digs, and Gina Di Maggio had 57 assists and 13 digs. The Lutes had ten aces in the match, including three each by Kosel and Lauren Poole.

The Lutes, ranked 17th in Division III volleyball, played without sophomore middle blocker Kelcy Joynt who suffered an undetermined knee injury in Friday night's three-game win at Willamette.

(Courtesy of L&C Sports Information Office)