Septembre Russell – Copy editor. Wildcat volleyball broke open its season last weekend at the Boxer Invitational tournament in Forest Grove, Ore. The team faced Willamette University and Central College on Sept. 5 and Wartburg College on Sept. 6.
Linfield swept Willamette in three sets with scores of 25-15, 25-22 and 25-23, but fell short in three sets against Central scoring 25-23, 27-25, 19-25 and 25-22.
Re-energized, the team bounced back to triumph over the Wartburg Knights the next day; it seized a win in three sets with scores of 25-14, 25-17 and 25-16.
Linfield dominated its opening set versus Willamette. Neither team, however, posted exceptional hitting percentages in the second set. The scoring margin remained close during the final sets against the Bearcats.
Willamette freshman outside hitter Madison Leenstra helped hand the Wildcats the win with a hitting error in the closing set after the Bearcats fought to narrow a 5-point deficit.
Linfield sophomore outside hitters Tara Hill and Samantha Lau achieved 11 digs against the Bearcats. Senior setter Stephanie Purser completed 25 assists, and a debut performance from freshman outside hitter Katie Leavitt resulted in nine kills.
Against Central, Linfield dropped the first and second of four sets, although the team was outscored only by two points in each. Linfield pulled ahead of Central and took the third frame by six points only to see-saw back, dropping another close-scoring final set, 25-22.
“We fought and we played really well [against Central], I thought,” Lau said. “We were beaten on the right side a lot. That is something we are continually working on in practice.”
Senior middle blocker Emily Vuylsteke put down 10 kills against the Dutch. Junior right side Rae Smith and Leavitt tallied 13 and 14 kills, respectively.
The Wartburg Knights were held to 17 points or fewer throughout the three sets.
“We played better that game,” Lau said. “We had a lot more energy and came out strong.”
The Wildcats hold the third position in the 2009 Northwest Conference Volleyball Coaches’ Preseason Poll.
Linfield held a 13-7 record at the conclusion of the 2008 season.
Four starters—Hill, Purser, Lau and Vuylsteke—return to Wildcat volleyball this season. Lau said the team includes close to the same number of first- and second-year players.
The number of freshmen and sophomores, however, does not steal from how well the team can play together.
“The team is young,” sophomore outside hitter Jordan Johnson said. “There is a lot of potential on the team.”
Next, the Wildcats head to the Cal-Lu-fornia Tournament. They will travel to Thousand Oaks, Calif., Sept. 11-12 to match up against Cal Lutheran University, Claremont Mudd-Scripps College, University of Redlands and University of California, Santa Cruz.