TACOMA, Wash. --- Linfield volleyball (4-7, 2-4 NWC) closed out the road trip to the Tacoma schools on Saturday, falling to the conference-leading Puget Sound Loggers (10-5, 6-0 NWC) in three sets.
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 Following a 3-3 tie to begin the opening set, the Loggers were able to pull out to a 17-9 lead over the Wildcats. Linfield entered Saturday's match after a late-night four-set match at PLU that featured both squads scoring 20+ in each set.
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Once trailing 23-15, the 'Cats began to claw back into the set, going on a 6-1 run led by
Nora Myre and featured blocks by
Pi'ilani Hirahara,
Cam Coughlin, and
Madison Millard. Puget Sound captured two of the final three points to claim set one, 25-23.
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Set two was all Loggers early, taking a commanding 16-6 lead over the Wildcats. UPS wouldn't let Linfield back into the set like they did in the first, extending their lead to two sets.
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Linfield fought back to begin the third, staying within striking distance, trailing 9-8. The Wildcat offense was slowed by the Loggers in the net, as UPS lead a 5-0 run to get some breathing room from the Wildcats. The Puget Sound lead extended as late as 18-11, until Taliloa, Millard, and Myre took three-straight points. Following a Logger timeout, UPS grabbed the momentum again, shutting the door on the Wildcats, 25-16.Â
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The 'Cats could not grab a win against two of the top-three teams in the conference in PLU and UPS during the road trip to Tacoma. Myre recorded 14 kills for a second-consecutive match, while Alefaio-Foifua earned 16 digs. The freshman libero has recorded over five digs per set in each of the matches over the weekend.Â
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Volleyball is back in action next Friday in Portland, set to face the Lewis & Clark Pioneers at 7 p.m. for their third-straight game on the road.Â
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To follow Linfield Wildcats coverage all season long, visit golinfieldwildcats.com. Please consider following Linfield Athletics on Facebook, and @LinfieldSports on Instagram and X.com.Â
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