Puget Sound 3, George Fox 0

Error-Prone Bruins Rolled Over by Loggers in Home Opener

File photo courtesy: George Fox University

NEWBERG - Hitting the lowest percentage of the season is not something a team wants to do against the pre-season league favorite, but that was the problem that plagued the George Fox University Bruins in their home opener Friday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center’s Miller Gym, resulting in a 3-0 loss to the University of Puget Sound Loggers in a Northwest Conference women’s volleyball match.

The Bruins hit only .089, with 23 errors and only 35 kills, in falling 25-30, 25-30, 19-30. The visiting Loggers were much more efficient, hitting .214 with 25 errors but 55 kills.

George Fox suffered its third straight setback and is 0-2 in the conference, while Puget Sound climbed to 6-1 overall with its sixth straight win and won its NWC opener.

George Fox led twice early in the first game, but a Bruin service error at 10-10 gave Puget Sound a lead it would not relinquish. The Loggers gradually pulled away, three times taking six-point leads, before closing out the game with a Joanna Ricken kill.

In game two, the Loggers jumped out to a 15-7 lead before the Bruins battled back to make a game of it. The Bruins got within one point three times, the last at 24-23, but kills by Leigh Sumida and Monica Groves and three straight Bruin attack errors enabled the Loggers to regain momentum and hang on.

Puget Sound quickly seized control of the final game, reeling off seven unanswered points to turn a 3-2 lead into a comfortable 10-2 margin. The Loggers had another 7-0 run shortly thereafter, making it 18-5, and took their largest lead at 25-10 on a Groves kill. The Bruins scored nine of the next 12 points to make it respectable, but a kill by Jamie Eggers and a final attack error by the home team ended the match.

Whitney Kolb was the only Bruin in double figures in kills with 12, and Holly Hutchinson added eight with a .300 hitting percentage. Amy Knight passed out 27 assists, while Karina Philliber had 14 digs.

Groves, the NWC leader in kills with 4.88 per game, added to her numbers with 18 more, and Eggers chipped in with 11. Jessica McPhee-Hayes handed out 43 assists. Rachel Gross topped all defenders with 32 digs and Eggers added 13.

George Fox plays two matches Saturday, hosting Dixie State College of Utah at 1 p.m. and 3rd-ranked University of La Verne at 7:00 PM in a pair on non-conference contests. Puget Sound visits Pacific University in an NWC match Saturday at 7:00 PM.

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