NEWBERG, Ore. - Putting up 17 kills on 62 attacks, sophomore
Brynn Blickenstaff (Eagle, Idaho) led the 20th-ranked Puget Sound
Loggers past the George Fox Bruins, 27-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-22, in
a Northwest Conference volleyball match on Friday evening in
Newberg, Ore.
In the first set, the host Bruins held the advantage for much of
the frame, leading 19-15 at one point. The Loggers battled
back to tie the set a 19-19 and the Loggers continued to battle,
forcing George Fox's Stephanie Kerr into making a pair of errors as
Puget Sound collected the 27-25 set one victory.
In the second set, the Bruins again got out to a quick lead but
the Loggers again battled back, building a 14-11 advantage.
From that point, Puget Sound just held the Bruins at bay as they
played to a 25-22 set two victory and the early 2-0 match lead.
The Loggers took an early lead in the third set but the Bruins
battled back. After Puget Sound led 12-8 early on, the Bruins
managed to tie the set at 16-16. George Fox eventually took
the lead and held off Puget Sound, using three points at the end to
collect a 25-21 win and force a fourth set.
In the final set, the Loggers took an intial lead and never
really looked back. Though the Bruins retook a brief lead
midway through, the Loggers used a 5-1 run to build a five-point
lead and the advantage was enough as the Loggers held on for a
25-22 set four win and the match victory, three sets to one.
With the victory, the Loggers clinch no worse than second place
and better their chance for an at-large selection to the 2009 NCAA
Division III Volleyball Championship Tournament.
The Loggers were led by the 17 kills from Blickenstaff.
High school teammate Natalie Monro (Eagle, Idaho) added 11 kills in
win while Stephanie Harvey (Yakima, Wash./Eisenhower) collected 47
assists. Senior libero Leigh Sumida (Kaneohe, Hawaii/Iolani)
led the way with 27 digs on the night. Senior Kalli Kamphaus
(Manson, Wash.) had an outstanding match at the net, recording
seven blocks in the win.
George Fox was led by 17 kills and 25 digs from Lyndsay
Hovee. Jennifer Panico added 11 kills to go with 23 digs
while Carely Johnson finished with 31 digs on the night.
The Loggers conclude the 2009 regular season on Saturday night
when they travel to McMinnville, Ore. to take on Linfield.
