PARKLAND, Wash. – The University of Puget Sound volleyball team had a rough trip across town with a 3-1 (25-23, 25-16, 19-25, 25-20) loss to Pacific Lutheran. It was the second loss in the last week for the Loggers (17-6, 12-3).
The Loggers jumped out to an early lead in the first set, but the Lutes (18-7, 12-3) came surging back to take the first set 25-23. Both teams hit poorly in the set with negative hitting percentages. The Lutes started rolling in the second set with a .206 hitting percentage led by Beth Hanna's four kills in the set. She tallied 14 in the match to lead the Lutes. The Loggers were held to a .033 hitting percentage and dropped the set 25-16.
The Loggers turned the tables in the third set to avoid the sweep. Natalie Monro pounded five of her 11 kills in the set to lead the Loggers. The Loggers also turned in three of their six service aces to help avoiding the sweep with a 25-19 victory. The Lutes were held to a .022 hitting percentage in the set.
"When we came out in game three, we really had just talked about doing the things that were part of our pregame plan," said head coach Mark Massey. "We were serving the way we wanted to serve, blocking the way we wanted to block and attacking he way we wanted to attack."
The tables turned again in the fourth set as the Lutes block dominated the net. The Lutes tallied seven of their 14 team blocks in the deciding set to capture the 25-20 victory in the set and clinch the match.
"They put more blocks on us tonight than anyone has all season," said Massey. "We hit the ball into the bottom of the block and that's not really the way we've trained. That was what really shifted the match in my mind."
Brynn Blickenstaff led the Loggers with 14 kills in the match. As a team that has dominated at the net for most of the season, the Loggers were uncharacteristically outblocked 14-6 in the match.
With the loss, the Loggers fell out of first place and are now in a tie for second place in the NWC with the Lutes. The Loggers will need to win on Saturday and get some help with a Whitworth loss to climb back into a tie for first.
The Loggers will finish up the season on Saturday when they travel to Pacific.
