TACOMA, Wash. - Knocking of the 10th and 13th ranked teams in
the nation, the 19th-ranked Puget Sound Loggers won their own Puget
Sound Premier, defeating the 13th-ranked Pacific Lutheran Lutes in
five sets on Saturday at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash.
In their first match of the day, the Loggers came out strong
against 10th-ranked St. Benedict. In the first set, the
Loggers forced the Blazers into hitting just .026 as Puget Sound
took the opening frame, 25-19. St. Benedicts edged out the
Loggers in the second set, 29-27, but the Loggers answered back in
the third set, putting down 12 kills to take a 2-1 lead in the
match. Puget Sound put it away in the fourth set, holding on
for a 25-23 set win to clinch the match, three sets to one.
The Loggers were led by 12 kills and 11 digs from Lindsey Denman
(Kenmore, Wash./Inglemoor). Brynn Blickenstaff (Eagle, Idaho)
added 11 kills and Leigh Sumida (Kaneohe, Hawaii/Iolani) dug out 19
balls. Erika Greene (Sandy, Utah/Juan Diego) had 23 assists
while Stephanie Harvey (Yakima, Wash./Eisenhower) added 21 assists
in the win.
With the win over St. Benedicts, the Loggers earned a rematch
with 13th-ranked Pacific Lutheran in the championship match and
fans who stuck around until the end were not left
disappointed.
Pacific Lutheran came out strong in the first set, hitting .239
to hold off the Loggers for a 26-24 set one victory. In the
second set, both teams struggled a bit but PLU was able to get to
25 first as they put the Loggers in a two-set hole but Puget Sound
did not give up.
In the third set, the Loggers got their hitting percentage back
above .150, hitting .167 to extend the match with a 25-23 set three
victory. The Loggers continued the comeback in the fourth
set, hitting .220 with 15 kills on 41 attempts to force the match
into a decisive fifth set with a 25-19 victory.
In the fifth set, the Loggers had an answer for anything the
Lutes threw at them, as Puget Sound hit .250 with nine kills and
just two attack errors on 28 attempts to complete the comeback and
win the set, 15-9, and the tournament, 3-2.
The Loggers head off to Colorado next week to participate in the
Molten Colorado College Invitational in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Box Scores
Puget
Sound/St. Benedicts
Puget
Sound/Pacific Lutheran
