Willamette Drops Two Matches on First Day of WU Volleyball Tournament

Bearcats fall to Warner Pacific, 3-0, and to UC-Santa Cruz, 3-1.

Salem-News.com SPORTS

SALEM, Ore. - The Bearcats opened the 2007 season with a pair of losses at the Willamette University Volleyball Tournament on Friday at Cone Field House.

Willamette fell to Warner Pacific College, 3-0, in the first match, as the Knights won 30-18, 30-27, 30-25.

In WU's second match, UC-Santa Cruz claimed a 3-1 victory by scores of 30-25, 31-29, 24-30 and 30-28.

In the match against Warner Pacific, Jessica Durham led the Bearcats with 16 kills and seven digs.

Kelley Lindstrom added eight kills and no attacking errors on 17 total attacks for a .471 hitting percentage.

Brittany Ashby earned 30 assists.

The Knights were led by Kara VanZanten, who achieved a team-high 18 kills to go with 10 digs.

Against UC-Santa Cruz, the Bearcats registered 18 service aces and just six serving errors. The Banana Slugs limited WU to a .065 team hitting percentage. UCSC received 32 digs from libero Melinda Tom.

Durham topped Willamette's offensive chart with 14 kills, while Julie Stutzman provided nine kills, a .316 hitting percentage, a match-high seven service aces, eight digs and five block solos.

Gillian McGraw earned 17 kills for Santa Cruz, while Nicole Payne added 15 kills.

Amy Knight recorded 51 assists for UCSC, while Ashby produced 40 assists for Willamette.

The Bearcats received 15 digs from Christine Dion and 14 digs from Edyth Lee-Barnes.

Willamette will conclude the tournament with two matches on Saturday.

The Bearcats will take on Eastern Oregon University at 2:00 p.m. (PDT) and will face George Fox University at 6:00 p.m. (PDT).

Match #1 - Warner Pacific 3, Willamette 0

Match #2 - UC-Santa Cruz 3, Willamette 1

Complete Results from Friday, Aug. 31

Warner Pacific defeated Linfield, 30-25, 31-29, 21-30, 26-30, 15-10

UC-Santa Cruz defeated Eastern Oregon, 30-27, 30-23, 30-18

Warner Pacific defeated Willamette, 30-18, 30-27, 30-25

Cal State-East Bay defeated Linfield, 30-23, 30-19, 30-22

George Fox defeated Eastern Oregon, 30-27, 30-28, 18-30, 30-20

UC-Santa Cruz defeated Willamette, 30-25, 31-29, 24-30, 30-28

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