The Puget Sound volleyball team kept their impressive winning streak alive this past weekend at home, defeating the Linfield Wildcats on Friday and the Willamette Bearcats on Saturday. Not only did the two wins extend the team’s streak to 10 straight, but both came with ease as the Loggers swept both matches three sets to none.
On Friday, the outcome of the match was never in doubt for Puget Sound as Memorial Fieldhouse looked on during “Think Pink” night. Senior Molly Gibson (Lake Forest Park, Wash.) and Freshman Jackie Harvey (Santa Barbara, Calif.) combined for 12 blocks and seven kills against the Wildcats while Junior Stephanie O’Connor (Ontario, Ore.) tallied three aces.
Junior Juliette Witous (Sonoma, Calif.) and Freshman Jordan Bird (Richland, Wash.) also added two aces apiece for the Loggers. Junior Erika Greene (Sandy, Utah) continued her solid performance this season as she posted 33 assists on the match. Linfield held a solid lead in the second set of the match, but the Loggers put together a late 13-3 run for the win and took back control of the match.
The success continued Saturday with another three-set sweep of the Bearcats at home. Senior Natalie Monro (Eagle, Idaho) lead the Loggers with 13 kills, while Bird tallied nine. Junior Brynn Blickenstaff (Eagle, Idaho) also added an additional eight kills for the Loggers. O’Connor and Witous recorded a combined 36 digs on the match as Puget Sound gave the Bearcats no hope at any point during the match, controlling each set from the beginning.
Coming into this past weekend, the Loggers were ranked 24th in the nation and should only move up after the two victories improved their record to 16-4 overall and 11-1 in Northwest Conference play.
“After our first tournament I don’t think anyone knew what this year would look like, but over the last few months we’ve really grown as a team. We didn’t start out as the best in conference, but we worked hard and came together and we have a lot to show for it,” Monro said.
Next week Puget Sound will take on the Bruins of George Fox and the Pioneers of Lewis and Clark at Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland due to the Race and Pedagogy Conference in Memorial Fieldhouse.
The Loggers’ strong performance this past weekend will certainly provide the team with plenty of momentum going into this week’s games. Although the team is forced out of their home venue, there should be no doubt that the Loggers can extend their winning streak to twelve after this weekend.
“We have a vision for the end of our season and we’re not going to let any team stand in the way of that,” Monro said.