McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Linfield had a handful of stellar individual performances, but the Wildcats fell 3-1 to Pacific to open the week Wednesday night at Ted Wilson Gymnasium.
The Wildcats got off to a hot start and took the first set but dropped the next three, losing the match by scores of 25-16, 27-29, 22-25 and 16-25. They matched the Boxers' 68 points, also totaling 50 kills, 80 digs, 47 assists and 14 blocks. The team's 18 block assists are tied for the season high.
It was all Linfield in the opening frame. The Wildcats opened the match with a 5-0 run before the Boxers tied it at 8-8. The 'Cats had another 5-0 run later in the set to make it 18-12. They extended to their largest lead of the night, winning the set by a convincing score of 25-16.
Pacific led by as much as six points in the second set, but blocks by
Megan Stanek and
Raelynn Hammock evened the score at 24-all. After a back-and-forth battle that included service errors by both teams, the Boxers came out on top, 29-27.
The Boxers slipped away, 25-22, in the third set before returning the favor from set No. 1 with a 25-16 win in set No. 4 to claim their seventh win in Northwest Conference play.
Hammock led all players with 21 kills on 65 attempts to go with 16 digs and a pair of blocks. It was the fifth time this season that the senior outside hitter racked up 20-plus kills. Senior libero
Maya Nakasone turned in a season-high 24 digs, marking the third time this season that she finished with 20 or more digs.
Stanek,
Ellie Mead and
Kara Thomas all had career nights for Linfield. Mead tallied a career-high 15 kills while Thomas had a career-high seven blocks in the loss. Stanek was a force at the net with 10 total blocks, shattering her previous career high of five, set earlier this year against Pacific Lutheran on Sept. 23. Her 10 total blocks are tied for seventh all-time in program history.
NEXT
The 'Cats (8-12, 4-9 NWC) will enjoy two days off in preparation for a big road match at Puget Sound on Saturday. Start time is set for 6 p.m. at the Loggers' Memorial Fieldhouse. The Loggers sit in a four-way tie for first place in the NWC standings with Whitworth, George Fox and Willamette with an 8-4 NWC record.
