SALEM, Ore.—The University of Puget Sound volleyball team's postseason hopes took a large hit Friday night when the Loggers were swept by host Willamette 3 sets to 0 in Salem, Ore.

The Bearcats started the match by running out to a 12-1 lead in the first set. A kill by Danielle Westerman gave the Loggers brief respite from the 12 point Willamette run, but the Loggers struggled linking more than two points together. The smallest Willamette lead in the second half of the set was 14-6, a margin of eight points. The Loggers hit just .118 in the first set, only making four errors while only ending eight attacks with kills while the Bearcats hit .438. Willamette took the set 25-12.

In the second game, the Bearcats jumped out to a 9-3 lead and then traded points up to a score of 17-11. At that point, they won eight of the game's final 12 points, taking the game 25-15. Puget Sound hit .049 in the second period, offsetting eight kills with six attack errors. Willamette hit .289 with 15 kills and four errors.

In the third and final game, Willamette again jumped out to an 8-3 lead. The Loggers fought back, cutting the lead to 11-8, but the Bearcats won five of the next six points, taking a 16-9 set lead. Puget Sound rallied again, cutting their deficit to just two at 17-15, but they could come no closer as Willamette held on for a 25-20 third-set victory. In the third set, the Loggers hit a match-high .206 with 11 kills and four errors.

Overall, the Loggers hit .119 for the match, tallying 27 kills and 14 attack errors. Nicolette Reynaud led the Loggers with seven kills, while Marissa Florant was one behind her with six. Jackie Harvey dug out 11 balls and Christina Chun dug 10, while Chun also added two service aces. Also, Florant tallied eight digs on the night, exactly the amount she needed to hit 1,000 digs in her career at Puget Sound. She joins Jackie Harvey as the only two current Loggers with 1,000 career digs.

With the loss and a Pacific Lutheran win tonight, the Loggers were eliminated from NWC title contention. They can still make the postseason as an at-large selection, however. That will be decided Monday, Nov. 11 at 8:00 a.m. when the NCAA announces the Division III women's volleyball bracket live on NCAA.com.

The Loggers (17-7, 12-3 NWC) have one more chance to improve their at-large resume' when they wrap up the regular season with a 7:00 p.m. contest at Pacific in Forest Grove, Ore.