McMINNVILLE, Ore. - Using a convincing sweep to conclude the
2009 regular season, the 20th-ranked Puget Sound Loggers picked up
an easy win over the Linfield Wildcats, 25-19, 25-18, 25-15, in a
Northwest Conference volleyball match on Saturday at Ted Wilson
Gymnasium in McMinnville, Ore.
In the first set, the Loggers built an early lead and continued
to hold off the upset-minded Wildcats. Linfield played back
to within two points an 19-17 but the Loggers used a 6-2 run to
collect a 25-19 set one victory. The Loggers hit .370 in the
first frame, throwing down 13 kills and committing just three
attack errors on 27 attacks.
In the second frame, the Loggers exploded out of the game,
holding a 10-4 advantage early on and Linfield couldn't work their
way back into the set as the Loggers used a good offensive effort
and an even better defensive effort to take a 25-18 win and the
two-set match lead.
The 'Cats did their best to keep things close in the final
frame, pulling back within three at 12-9. From that point on,
the Loggers held total control of the set. Putting down 11
kills and forcing 10 Linfield attack errors, the Loggers collected
the sweep with a 25-15 victory.
Puget Sound was led by eight kills each from Kalli Kamphaus
(Manson, Wash.) and Juliette Witous (Sonoma, Calif./Sonoma Valley)
and seven from Bre Boyce (Kent, Wash./Kentwood). Stephanie
Harvey (Yakima, Wash./Eisenhower) put up 29 assists on the match
while Leigh Sumida (Kaneohe, Hawaii/Iolani) dug out 13 balls.
Linfield was led by 13 kills from Emily Vuylsteke.
Stephanie Purser chipped in 16 assists while Samantha Lau added 13
digs in the loss.
The Loggers will now wait until Monday morning to find out if
their playoff resume is strong enough to earn a third straight trip
to the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship. The
bracket is expected to be released during a selection show that is
set to begin at 8:00 a.m. PST on NCAA.com.