Logger volleyball concluded their time at home with victories on both Friday and Saturday night this past weekend. Their weekend of games began with a sweep over Willamette and concluded with a 3-1 victory over Linfield.
Seven team blocks allowed the Puget Sound volleyball team to a 26-24, 25-23, 25-23 sweep of Willamette. The victory was sweet revenge for the Loggers (16-5, 10-3 NWC) who had fallen to a five-set loss earlier this year against Willamette.
The Willamette Bearcats (7-13, 5-8 NWC) began the match on the offensive, putting the Loggers in a hole at the start. However, the Loggers were able to claw their way back to the top and eventually took a 17-16 lead. The lead change was part of a five-point run that swung the momentum in the Loggers’ favor.
The Bearcats continued to test the Loggers’ strength but a service ace eventually ended the set at 26-24.
The first set readied the pace for the rest of the match. Willamette kept constant pressure on the 14th-ranked Loggers as both teams took turns holding onto the lead, as well as the momentum. In the end, the Loggers found a way to hold on to the advantage and created the space that allowed for Logger victories in the remaining two sets.
Junior Jackie Harvey (Santa Barbara, Calif.) ended the match with a match-high of 13 kills and a total of 17 digs. Junior Jennie Brehove (Vista, Calif.) and sophomore Nicollette Reynaud (Los Gatos, Calif.) helped lead the outstanding effort at the net with a total of four blocks each, all of which allowed the Loggers to hold on to the lead and win overall against Willamette.
Harvey continued to assist the Loggers to victory after pounding down 21 kills to lead the Loggers to a 25-21, 25-12, 23-25, 25-19 win over Linfield on Saturday. This marked the fourth consecutive victory for the Loggers.
Harvey had five kills in the first set while hitting a .400 as the Loggers controlled the set for the win. The Loggers hit .333 in the set while holding Linfield to .095 hitting.
The Loggers hit a scorching .424 in the second set. Junior Marissa Florant (Palo Alto, Calif.) served 10 points in a row. Brehove had 14 of her 46 assists in the set and the Loggers had three team blocks to secure the win.
Linfield took advantage of the younger Logger lineup in the third set, holding the Loggers to .082 hitting.
In the fourth set, the tides turned back in the Loggers’ favor and they cruised to a match victory.
Florant led the team with 24 digs and junior Christina Chun (Pearl City, Hawaii) contributed 20 digs to the cause.
The Loggers finished their home schedule with a four-match winning streak. They will end the regular season with two matches on the road. The Loggers also traveled to Pacific Lutheran on Wednesday, Oct. 31.
PHOTO COURTESY / CHRIS SPALDING
