Bruins Fade Away Against Knights in Season Opener

The final score was Warner Pacific 3, George Fox 1.

Salem-News.com Sports

PORTLAND, Ore. - After a strong start that earned them a win in the first set of the evening, the George Fox University Bruins saw their hitting efficiency fade away in successive sets as the Warner Pacific College Knights rallied for a 3-1 victory (17-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-14) in a non-conference women’s volleyball match Wednesday night here at C.C. Perry Gym.

Back-to-back attack errors by the Knights enabled the Bruins to break an early 3-3 tie and gradually pull away in the first set. The Bruins used two five-point runs midway through the set to increase their lead, taking an 11-point advantage of 23-12 on yet another Warner Pacific error. The Knights hit only .000 in the set, with eight kills and eight errors, while the Bruins hit .192 with eight kills and three errors.

It was all downhill from there for the Bruins, however, as they slumped to .152, .118, and -.032 in each of the next three sets. The second and third sets were tight ones. Neither team led by more than three points throughout set two until the end, when the Knights broke the 11th and final tie of 21-21 with four unanswered points. Kills by Leah Gradwohl and Megan Marineau, a set error, and a service ace by Michelle Egan were the clinching points for the Knights.

In set three, the Bruins broke an 8-8 tie with a 4-0 run that featured a Warner Pacific set error, a block by Eliza Pledger, and kills by Lyndsay Hovee and Sarah Crossfield. The Knights responded with a 6-0 run, capped by a pair of aces by Sam Kolakowski, for a 14-12 lead, but the Bruins tied it 14-14 on a Pledger kill and an attack error by the home team. Gradwohl’s kill then ignited a 5-0 burst that gave the Knights the lead for good. George Fox pulled within one at 24-23 on a winner by Hovee, but Claire Van Meer’s spike put the game away for the Knights.

Warner Pacific scored the first four points of the final set and never trailed. The Bruins pulled within one at 5-4 on another Hovee kill, but an 11-1 outburst by the Knights at that point boosted them to a 10-point lead of 16-6, effectively sealing the win, as the Bruin could get no closer than six points thereafter.

George Fox wound up with a .105 hitting percentage in the match to .109 for Warner Pacific. The Knights served 14 aces, however, to only one for the Bruins.

Hovee paced the Bruins with nine kills and Crossfield added seven. Jennifer Panico made 18 digs and Hovee 11 as the Bruins made 63 digs to 50 for the Knights. Ali Toedtemeier passed out 19 assists and Lani Rasmussen 10, while Pledger had four blocks.

Gradwohl and Kolakowski topped the Knights with 13 and 11 kills respectively and Megan Marineau added nine. Gradwohl also had 17 digs, and Marineau had four blocks. Melita Elliott made 34 assists.

George Fox (0-1) next hosts Walla Walla University Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. in its home opener. Warner Pacific (3-1) visits Southern Oregon University Thursday at 7:00 p.m. for its first Cascade Collegiate Conference contest of the season.

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