Bruins Let Win Slip Through Their Fingers

George Fox hosts 7th-ranked Linfield College on Friday.

Photo: George Fox University

SPOKANE, Wash. - Despite holding sizeable leads in each of the first two games, George Fox let Whitworth slip from their grasp and dropped a 3-0 match in Northwest Conference women’s volleyball action Saturday afternoon at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

The Bruins fell 23-30, 26-30, 26-30 to the Pirates, suffering their seventh straight setback and falling to 3-11 overall and 0-4 in the conference. The Pirates improved to 3-12 overall and 2-2 in the league.

Behind Whitney Kolb’s six kills, George Fox took a 14-10 lead in the first game, but Whitworth rallied with an 11-2 run to take a 21-16 lead after a pair of Bruin attack errors. The Pirates stretched their advantage to 27-21 on a kill by Angie Florence before winning the game on another George Fox attack error.

The Bruins moved from a one-point lead to a 20-14 margin in the second game after a block by Holly Hutchinson and four straight attack errors by the Pirates, but the home team again bounced back with a 16-6 run to win the game. The Pirates got a season-high eight team blocks in the game, including five during the winning rally.

In the final, Whitworth led all the way, taking an early 10-2 lead before George Fox rallied to within one at 17-16 after an ace by Amy Knight. Whitworth went back up by four at 24-20 on a service ace by Nikki Bardwell, but the Bruins rallied one more time to within 25-24 on a kill by Natalie Pickett. Back-to-back kills by Bardwell, however, closed out the match for the Pirates.

Karina Philliber sparkled for the Bruins, posting 12 kills and no errors in 28 attempts for a match-high .429 hitting percentage, but she was the only player in double figure for the Bruins, who struggled to their lowest hitting percentage of the season at .030. Knight had 27 assists. Ashlie Keimig led the George Fox defense with 13 digs, while Knight and Ashley Sheller added 10 apiece.

Holly Tomlin with 13 kills and Bardwell with 10 led the Pirate offense, which hit .153 for the match. Holly Ridings passed out 30 assists. Cassie Moore had 15 digs to lead the Bucs, and Nicole VanderMeulen added 13. Tamra Stark with eight blocks and Florence with six paced the Pirates at the net.

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