Joanna Peterson – Review staff writer. The Linfield volleyball team found itself on the losing end of two Northwest Conference matches Oct. 28 and 30.
The Wildcats fell to Willamette University in an intense five-set match Oct. 28 with scores of 23-25, 25-23, 25-21, 18-25 and 13-15. It then lost to George Fox University on Oct. 31 with scores of 18-25, 28-26, 19-25 and 22-25.
The pair of losses brought Linfield’s record to 8-13 overall and 5-9 in the NWC.
Linfield held Willamette back by as many as four points during the early part of the first set. Willamette then retaliated with a 10-2 run. The Bearcats emphasized strong front-row offensive plays to close the first set with a two-point lead.
The ’Cats took a seven-point lead to open the second set but struggled to keep control when the Bearcats made a 10-3 run to tie the score at 13. Wildcat junior middle blocker Rae Smith wrapped up the set with a kill.
The ’Cats dominated in the third set with strong offensive plays from senior middle blocker Emily Vuylsteke. They only committed two unforced errors, which also contributed to its win.
The Bearcats turned the game around in set four, relying on service aces from freshman setter Brigit Miller. Linfield tied the set at 16 until Willamette pulled ahead with three consecutive kills. The Bearcats finished with a 6-2 spurt.
“Willamette had several big kills that caused them to get emotionally up, and we had a series of unforced errors that forced us to fall behind,” assistant coach Bobby Ezell said.
Linfield and Willamette tied the score at 13 in the final set. After Linfield made an attack error, senior middle hitter Julie Stutzman slammed down a kill to give the Bearcats the win.
Despite Willamette’s victory, Vuylsteke scored a match-high 20 kills. Gimson contributed 13 kills.
Linfield next lost to George Fox in a four-set match Oct. 31.
The Bruins pulled ahead with a 5-0 run at the beginning of set one, forcing the ’Cats to trail for the remainder of the set. Linfield then came within a point of George Fox at 9-8 after a kill from sophomore outside hitter Tara Hill. However, the Bruins pulled back-to-back aces to roll away with an 8-2 run and stayed at least four points ahead of the ’Cats for the remainder of the set.
The Wildcats pulled through during the final plays of the second set. Freshman outside hitter Katie Leavitt and Vuylsteke each pounded a kill and a service ace in the last three points to win the set.
Linfield struggled with unforced errors during the fourth set, handing George Fox the win. Although the ’Cats came close at 22-21 with a kill by Leavitt, a Bruin kill and two unforced Wildcat errors ended the game.
Despite the loss, Smith said that the ’Cats played a competitive game.
“We got more digs and kills than they did,” Smith said. “The stats show that we played hard, but those few extra errors killed us.”
Sophomore middle blocker Rosa Gimson made a game-high 15 assists and sophomore outside hitter Samantha Lau beat her personal record with 34 digs.
Linfield next plays Lewis & Clark College in Portland on Nov. 6.
“We should do well,” Ezell said. “We’ve had a good week of practice and are playing with much more confidence. As long as we can push through the game without too many unforced errors, we should be able to compete with them.”