PORTLAND, Ore. — Lewis & Clark College volleyball dropped a Northwest Conference match to visiting Pacific Lutheran University on Saturday evening. The third-place Lutes used a balanced attack and strong play at the net to earn a 25-22, 25-12, 25-18 win at Pamplin Sports Center.
 
THE BASICS

Pacific Lutheran 3, Lewis & Clark 0
(Lewis & Clark 0-17, 0-10 NWC)
(Pacific Lutheran 9-8, 7-3 NWC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Junior outside hitter Kaitlyn Jensen paced the attack with nine kills, four digs, and an ace, while fellow junior pin hitter Isabel Meleán-Williams followed with six kills on .278 hitting and two digs.
 
Middle hitter HB Schuett added five kills on .273 hitting, four service aces, and a block assist. The junior accounted for more than half of the Pioneers' seven aces.
 
Junior Ruby Kuerschner distributed 17 assists and collected eight digs, while senior libero Reilyn Sabado finished with eight digs and an assist.
 
First-years Ariah Potts and Izzy Faulkner combined for 10 digs. Faulkner made her first collegiate start and added an ace in her fourth appearance.
 
Lewis & Clark erased early deficits of three and six points to tie the set, but were unable to take the lead. Pacific Lutheran led 4-1 before Schuett's first kill and a Lutes hitting error tied it at 4-all. A 7-1 PLU run pushed the score to 11-5. The Pioneers answered with a 6-0 stretch highlighted by two Schuett aces, two Meleán-Williams kills, and a block from junior Christy San Diego and senior Abigail Warrick to tie it again at 11-11.
 
Pacific Lutheran regained the lead and went up 21-13, but the Pioneers fought back to pull within 22-20 after Kuerschner's service ace. The Lutes sealed the set with a kill from Julissa Pernsteiner (six kills).
 
The Lutes rebuilt their lead to 21-13, but Lewis & Clark rallied to within 22-20 after a Kuerschner ace. Pacific Lutheran closed the set on a kill from Julissa Pernsteiner.
 
PLU carried its momentum into the second set, jumping ahead 14-3 and hitting .393 to take a two-set advantage. In the third, the visitors built a 19-8 lead before Lewis & Clark cut the deficit to 21-15 behind kills from Meleán-Williams and sophomore Daphne Ibrao and an ace from Jensen. The Lutes held off the rally to finish the sweep.
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• Jensen tied PLU's Shaela Allen-Griggs for the match high with nine kills.
• Meleán-Williams hit a team-best .278 with six kills.
• Schuett posted a career-high 9.5 points.
• Kuerschner surpassed 200 assists for the third straight season and recorded her eighth straight match with at least 12 assists.

WHO'S NEXT
 
Lewis & Clark travels to George Fox University on Friday for a 7 p.m. match in Newberg.