19th-Ranked Puget Sound Defeats Willamette in Three Sets

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

TACOMA, WASH. -- The University of Puget Sound, ranked #19 in NCAA Division III, defeated visiting Willamette University, 3-0, in a Northwest Conference match on Saturday, Oct. 8. The Loggers upped their record to 14-2 overall, including 6-2 in the NWC. Willamette dropped to 6-11 overall, 3-5 in the NWC.

Jackie Harvey led the Loggers with 15 kills and a .538 hitting percentage. Blickenstaff provided an additional 12 kills. Willamette's Danica Reed (Jr., OH, Arvada, CO/Ralston Valley HS) earned 10 kills for the Bearcats.

Willamette surged out to a 7-0 lead in the first set, as Reed served to start the match. She scored the second point of the run on a back-row kill and added the fifth and sixth points with service aces. The Bearcats also scored on four attacking errors by Puget Sound.

Stephanie O'Connor of UPS ended the run with a kill for the Loggers. Puget Sound cut the lead to 10-8, but Willamette won the next two rallies on a kill by Madisyn Leenstra (Jr., MH/OH, Bellingham, WA/Sehome HS) and a service ace by Lizzy Balding (So., DS/LIB, Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) for a 12-8 advantage.

The Bearcats continued to hold between a two-point and four-point lead until Puget Sound cut the margin to 22-21 on a kill by Bre Boyce. Shannon Waltz (So., MH, Honolulu, HI/La Pietra HS) provided WU with a successful attack for a 23-21 advantage. Willamette also led 24-22, before UPS ran off four consecutive points to win the set. Blickenstaff earned two kills during the deciding run.

In the second set, Puget Sound owned a slim 8-7 lead after 15 points. The Loggers expanded their lead with a 9-2 run, as they claimed a 17-9 advantage. The run included seven kills by UPS, including five in a row to help UPS start the run with six unanswered points. Puget Sound won the set, 25-18.

A 14-3 build up at the start of the third set put Puget Sound in position to close in on the overall victory. The Loggers hit .480 during the set to take a 25-10 win.

Puget Sound hit .297 for the match and limited Willamette to a .138 hitting percentage. Harvey's .538 percentage led all attackers, while Jaime Ecklund added a .500 hitting percentage for the Loggers with nine kills, one error and 16 attacks.

Juliette Witous of UPS topped all players with 13 digs. She also had two service aces. Marissa Florant earned a match-high four aces, helping the Loggers finish with 12 aces overall.

Reed paced Willamette with her 10 kills, plus three service aces and eight digs. Leenstra earned eight kills, while Emily Compton (So., S, Portola, CA/Portola HS/Boise State Univ.) added 20 assists and seven digs. Kathy Lee Glenn (Jr., LIB/DS, Murrieta, CA/Vista Murrieta HS) contributed eight digs. Willamette achieved five service aces and had only one serving error.

Willamette is slated to play at Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore., on Wednesday, Oct. 12. Match time set for 7 p.m. (PDT). The Bearcats defeated the Wildcats earlier this year, 3-2.