The Linfield volleyball team ended its seven-game losing streak by defeating Lewis and Clark 3-1 Saturday in Portland.

“It felt really, really awesome,” sophomore Taylor Souza said. “Before the game started, in our huddle we said, ‘tonight is the night we are turning it around.'”

“Winning this game is a huge morale booster, and I hope it transfers into the next few games,” she said.

The Wildcats started the night strong by defeating the Pioneers 25- 18. But the Pioneers fought back and won the second set 23-25.

After the battle, Linfield took control of the game by winning set three 25-20 and finishing the game in set four, winning 25-20.

Souza said the team minimized serving, hitting and ball handling errors to win the game.

Wildcat leaders were junior Taylor Petersen with 11 kills, freshman Brianna Sanford with nine blocks, freshman Destyni Grace with 19 assists and junior Kayla Magbaleta with 24 digs.

Linfield is ranked eighth in the Northwest Conference with a 3-7 record. Pacific Lutheran leads the conference with a 9-1 record.

Linfield started off the season strong with a six-game winning streak. The team even won its first two conference games of the season.

But after falling to Pacific Lutheran on Sept. 22, the Wildcats found themselves in a rut.

With this win, the ’Cats have clawed their way back to turn around the season.

There are only six games left of regular season play.

The next Wildcat volleyball game is against Pacific Lutheran at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20, in Tacoma.

“The rest of the season our goal is just to give it everything we got and to have fun while doing it,” Souza said.