WHAT’S BRUIN: Volleyball News & Notes September 16, 2010

WHAT’S BRUIN: Volleyball News & Notes

Newberg, OR - Overall Record: 5-4 (Home 0-1, Road 0-0, Neutral 5-3)

NWC Record: 0-0, 2nd T (Home 0-0, Road 0-0)

Coming Up :

Fri., Sept. 17, 7:00 pm - at Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Ore. (NWC)

Sat., Sept. 18, 7:00 pm - vs. Willamette University, Newberg, Ore. (NWC)

Tue., Sept. 21, 7:00 pm - vs. Concordia University-Portland, Newberg, Ore.

After a 5-4 start to the 2010 season, all against non-conference opponents, the Bruins finally turn their attention to Northwest Conference action - although they do have one final non-league contest against Concordia-Portland coming up Tuesday. The Bruins open NWC play at Lewis & Clark Friday before playing their home NWC opener at the Wheeler Sports Center/Miller Gym Saturday vs. Willamette. All three games start at 7:00 p.m., with live stats and live video streaming provided for each. There will be no KFOX radio audio for the games this week.

Tickets: Ticket prices for George Fox soccer matches at the Austin Sports Complex, which is located at the corner of Villa Rd. and Crestview Dr. a mile north of the main campus, are $6 for adults and $3 for non-GFU students and seniors 55 and over. Children 6 and under who are not in school are free. George Fox faculty, staff, and students are admitted free with valid GFU ID; the ID covers immediate family members for George Fox employees.

This Week’s Opponents:

Lewis & Clark (4-6, NWC 0-0, 2nd T): The Pioneers from Portland, Ore., were picked 3rd in the NWC pre-season poll, one point ahead of the Bruins ... The Pios are coming off a 3-1 win vs. Whittier in the Cal-Lu-fornia Tournament, where they went 2-2 (as did the Bruins) ... The Bruins and Pios split last year, L&C winning in Newberg 3-2 on Sept. 16 and George Fox winning in Portland 3-1 in Oct. 14 ... In the latest NWC stats, L&C ranks 3rd in assists (10.65), aces (1.62), 5th in kills (11.03), digs (16.73), 7th in hitting pct. (.129), blocks (1.58) ... Jennifer Dowdy is 8th in kills (2.76) ... Leia Matsunaga is 9th in assists (6.14) ... Lou Ohki is 4th in digs (5.30) ... Coach Lori Jepsen is 64-116 to date in her 8th year ... Next: Sept. 18 vs. Pacific, 7 pm.

Willamette (4-5, NWC 0-0, 2nd T): The Bearcats from Salem, Ore., were picked 5th in the NWC pre-season poll, the Bruins 4th ... The Bearcats have lost their last two matches, to Occidental and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the Cal-Lu-fornia Tournament, where they were 1-3 (the Bruins were 2-2) ... The Bruins and Bearcats split last year, George Fox winning in Newberg 3-2 on Oct. 9 and Willamette winning in Salem 3-0 on Nov. 7 ... In the latest NWC stats, Willamette is 4th in hitting pct. (.162), blocks (2.27), 6th in kills (10.59), assists 9.88), 7th in digs (15.06), 8th in aces (1.41) ... Madisyn Leenstra is 2nd in hitting pct. (.330), 5th in blocks (1.00) ... Molly Blankenship is 3rd in kills (3.57), 8th in aces (0.37) ... Emily Compton is 3rd in assists (8.50) ... Kathy Lee Glenn is 7th in digs (4.42) ... Coach Tom Shoji is 21-38 to date in his 3rd year ... Willamette hosts Linfield Friday before meeting the Bruins ... Next: Sept. 24 vs. Pacific, 7 pm.

Concordia-Portland (5-5): The Cavaliers from Portland, Ore., are members of the NAIA and the Cascade Collegiate Conference ... Concordia has won its last two matches, 3-1 over Lewis & Clark and 3-0 over Warner Pacific ... This will be the first meeting between the two since Sept. 9, 1998, when the Bruins won 3-0 in Portland ... Though George Fox records are incomplete before 1988, the Bruins have won the last 21 meetings with Concordia for which there are records ... The Cavs average 10.92 kills, 10.11 assists, 14.95 digs, 2.50 blocks, and 1.65 aces per game, and have a .171 hitting pct. ... Concordia leaders include Raluca Dinca in kills (3.03), Mariah Raudsepp in hitting pct. (.254) and blocks (1.24), Lindsay Mangan in assists (6.79), Aubrey Concannon in digs (3.89) ... The Cavs visit Eastern Oregon and the College of Idaho for CCC games before meeting the Bruins ... Next: Sept. 24 vs. Northwest (Wash.), 7 pm.

BRUIN BITS ---

* Pledger Earns BAA Award; Two-Time HM for NWC Honors

Junior middle blocker Eliza Pledger from Wilsonville, Ore., has been named the Bruin Athletic Association Women’s Athlete of the Week for Sept. 6-12. She has also received honorable mention for Northwest Conference Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Week twice in the first two weeks of the season.

In the Cal-Lu-fornia Tournament in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on Sept. 10-11, Pledger led the Bruins to a 2-2 record with 43 kills (2.87 kpg) and 7 errors in 99 attempts for a .364 hitting pct., with 2 assists, 2 digs, and 21 blocks (4 solo, 17 assists, 1.40 bpg). On Friday, in a 3-0 loss to Occidental, she had 6 kills and 3 blocks while hitting .286, then had 7 kills, a .357 hitting mark, and 6 blocks in a 3-0 win over previously-unbeaten Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. On Sunday, she posted 15 kills and a .433 hitting pct. with 4 blocks in a 3-2 loss to Cal-Santa Cruz, then had 15 kills, a .365 pct., and 8 blocks in a 3-1 win over Whittier.

In the first week of the season, as the Bruins went 3-2 from Aug. 30-Sept. 5, Pledger had 48 kills (2.67 kpg) and 14 errors in 121 attempts for a .281 hitting pct., with 2 digs and 16 blocks (4 solo, 12 assists). In the season opener on Sept. 1, a 3-1 loss to Warner Pacific, she had 13 kills, a .345 pct., and 2 blocks. Against Northwest on Sept. 4 in the Northwest Conference Invitational at Lewis & Clark, she had 6 kills and 3 blocks, followed later in the day by 7 kills, a .278 pct., and 5 blocks in a 3-0 win over Evergreen State. On Sept. 5, she posted 11 kills and 3 blocks in a 3-2 win over Whittier, then added 11 kills with a .281 pct. and 3 blocks in a 3-0 win over Walla Walla.

The 6-3 Pledger, a Second Team All-NWC and honorable mention All-West Region pick last year, currently ranks 3rd in the NWC in hitting pct. (.318) and blocks (1.12), and 9th in kills (2.76).

* 2010 Honors

Eliza Pledger ---

- Bruin Athletic Association Women’s Athlete of the Week - (Sept. 6-12)

- Northwest Conference Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Week - (HM, Aug. 30-Sept. 5; HM, Sept. 6-12)

* Reeves Posts Second-Most Digs in a Match in GFU History

In a remarkable defensive performance, junior libero Patti Reeves of Everett, Wash., recorded 44 digs in a 3-1 win over Whittier on Sept. 11 in the Cal-Lu-fornia Tournament in Thousand Oaks, Calif., the second-highest single-match total in Bruins history. All-American Sharon Barnett set the George Fox record of 52 in a 3-2 win at Western Oregon on Nov. 14, 1998, during the days of side-out scoring. Reeves’ total is the Bruins’ best in the rally-scoring era, and her average of 11.0 digs per set is likely a new record (further research is needed). Currently leading the Northwest Conference in digs per game with a 6.97 average, she is well ahead of the season record pace of 5.31 digs set by Linzi Stolsig in 2005, and could threaten the George Fox season record total of 631 digs by Barnett in 1998.

* NWC Stats: Bruins, Reeves Lead League in Aces, Digs

In the latest Northwest Conference statistics (thru Sept. 15), George Fox ranks 1st in digs (20.82), aces (1.94), 2nd in kills (11.88), assists (10.88), 3rd in opponents’ hitting percentage (.134), 5th in blocks (2.09), 6th in hitting pct. (.137) ...

Patti Reeves is 1st in aces (0.53), digs (6.97) ...

Eliza Pledger is 3rd in hitting pct. (.318), blocks (1.12), 9th in kills (2.76) ...

Ali Toedtemeier is 4th in assists (8.48) …

Stephanie Kerr is 8th in blocks (0.91) ...

Isabel Valentine is 10th in blocks (0.88) ...

Betsy Wilhelm is 10th in digs (3.64) …

* Career Lists: Pledger Climbs within One of Top 10 in Blocks

- Ali Toedtemeier: With 280 assists this year, Toedtemeier has 1,374 in her career, 10th on the all-time list. Ahead is Gina (Coolen) Kluver, now a Bruins’ assistant coach (1,797, 2003-04) ...

- Eliza Pledger: With 37 blocks this year, Pledger has 154 for her career, one away from 10th on the all-time list. Ahead are Jamie Suehio (155, 1991-93) and Sarah Crossfield (156, 2006-09), now a Bruins’ assistant coach ...

* Coach Steve Grant:

Steve Grant (Biola ’69) has a 561-369 (.603) record to date in his 29th season as the Bruins’ head coach. Entering this fall, his 556 career wins were 13th among active NCAA Division III coaches and 19th among D-III coaches all-time. He was the NCCAA National Coach of the Year in 1984 and 1987 for leading the Bruins to NCCAA national titles, and in 1998, he was the NWC Coach of the Year. The Bruins have posted 21 winning seasons in his time as the GFU coach. Click here for the complete bio on Coach Grant.

WHAT’S BRUIN: Volleyball News & Notes From
GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY
414 N. Meridian St., Newberg, Oregon 97132

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