McMINNVILLE, Ore. - A strong team effort led the 16th-ranked Puget Sound Loggers past the Linfield Wildcats, 25-17, 25-16, 25-23, in a Northwest Conference volleyball match on Saturday night at Ted Wilson Gymnasium in McMinnville, Ore.

The Loggers quickly pulled ahead in the first set, holding a 10-3 lead early and Puget Sound continued to pull away, taking the first set 25-17.  UPS put down a match-high 13 kills in the first set, committing just three attack errors on 46 attacks for a .217 hitting percentage.  The Wildcats had their strongest set in the first frame, hitting .113 on 10 kills and four errors on 53 total attacks.

In the second set, the Loggers had their top hitting set of the night, putting down 10 kills with three errors on just 26 attacks to hit .269 while the Wildcats doubled their number of errors, also putting down 10 kills but committing eight errors on 36 attacks for a .056 percentage.

In the match's final set, the Loggers committed a few more errors but still put down 10 kills as they hit .080 in the third set.  Pair that with .000 hitting for the Wildcats, including eight kills and eight assists on 56 attacks, as the Loggers survived the final frame with a 25-23 win to sweep the match. 

The Loggers were led by 10 kills from junior Lindsey Denman (Kenmore, Wash./Inglemoor).  Freshman Brynn Blickenstaff (Eagle, Idaho) added nine kills while Juliette Witous (Sonoma, Calif.) dug out 26 balls to go with four service aces for UPS.  Senior setter Jamee Fred (Centennial, Colo./Grandview) finished with 33 assists on the night.

Linfield was led by seven kills from Samantha Lau and six from Tara Hill.  Emily Vuylsteke, who came in leading the NWC with a .343 hitting percentage, was held into negative numbers, hitting -.043 on the night.

The Loggers return to the court on Wednesday afternoon when they play host to Pacific Lutheran in a match to be played at Stadium High School in Tacoma, Wash.

Box Score