By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
TACOMA, Wash. -- Four Willamette University volleyball players recorded a least eight kills at the University of Puget Sound on Friday, Oct. 6, helping the Bearcats down the Loggers, 3-2. Olivia Cadien (Jr., OH, Mesa, AZ/Chandler Preparatory Academy) led the way with a match-high 17 kills. Katey Cramer (So., OH, Arroyo Grande, CA/Arroyo Grande HS/Cuesta College) tacked on 13 kills, while Sydney Locke (So., MB, Federal Way, WA/Decatur HS) registered nine and Syd Bowen (So., OH/OPP, Tigard, OR/Wilsonville HS) contributed eight.
The Bearcats attained a 53-49 lead in team kills on their way to a 25-21, 25-23, 15-25, 14-25, 15-9 victory. WU held the Loggers to a .091 hitting percentage in the decisive fifth set. Willamette upped its record to 9-5 overall and to 4-3 in the Northwest Conference. Puget Sound fell to 11-4 on the season, 4-3 in the NWC. The Bearcats and the Loggers are tied for fourth place in the conference standings.
In addition to the strong kill totals, the Bearcats also received solid efforts from setter Emma Porter (Grad., Honolulu, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute) and libero Shyla Sato (Sr., LIB, Honolulu, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute). Porter supplied WU's attackers with 41 assists, while Sato was credited with 29 digs. Porter has amassed 30 or more assists in six matches this season. Sato has produced 20 or digs in seven matches this fall.
Willamette finished the evening with 10 service aces, including four by Cadien and two each from Porter and Riley Cedergreen (So., DS, Nampa, ID/Liberty Charter School). Puget Sound had seven aces but also committed 12 serving errors.
Top attackers for the Loggers were Mackenzie Leith with 16 kills and Avery Allemann with 10 kills and a .360 hitting percentage. Sarah Johnsen added eight kills. Logan Winn provided 35 assists. Samantha Keightley recorded 18 digs while Katelyn Chekian achieved 17 digs.
During the fifth set, Willamette and Puget Sound were tied at 2-2, but Willamette took the lead on a kill by Cramer and remained in front the rest of the way. Cramer's kill started a 7-2 run. The Bearcats owned a 9-4 margin following a service ace by Cramer. The Loggers eventually cut the lead to 10-8 on a combination block by Johnsen and Mia Fedota.
The next two points were won by the Bearcats on kills by Cadien and Kaitlyn Westby (Jr., MB, Redmond, WA/Eastside Catholic HS). Another kill from Cadien, plus a kill by Bowen, extended the lead to 14-8. Leith from Puget Sound countered with a kill, but a service error by the Loggers ended the match as WU won the set, 15-9.
Willamette built a 2-0 lead with victories in the first two sets. The first set included nine ties and three lead changes, while the Bearcats registered 19 kills. The second set featured 11 ties and four lead changes with WU earning 13 kills
In the opening set, the Loggers held a 2-0 margin, but the teams were tied five times on their way to a 10-10 deadlock. WU grabbed a 12-10 edge on a service ace by Cadien and a kill from Westby. The Bearcats' margin reached 16-11 on a kill by Bowen, but Puget Sound eventually cut its deficit to 17-16. Two kills by Cramer gave Willamette a bit of breathing room at 19-16. Even so, the teams were tied at 19-19 and 21-21 before two kills from Cadien put the Bearcats at 24-21. An attacking error by the Loggers ended the set.
The very close third set reached its 11th tie at 23-23 on a kill for Puget Sound by Randi Rush. A service error by Keightley of the Loggers gave WU the lead and a service ace by Sato supplied a 25-23 win for the Bearcats.
Puget Sound held Willamette to a .000 hitting percentage in both the third and fourth sets. Meanwhile, the Loggers hit .316 with 13 kills in the third and hit .400 in the fourth set. PS used a 9-0 run to turn a 13-12 lead into a 22-12 margin in the third set on its way to a 25-15 win. In the fourth set, the Loggers pulled away from an 8-6 lead by going on a 12-4 run for a 20-10 lead. Puget Sound took the set 25-14.
Willamette will be in action on Saturday, Oct. 7, when the Bearcats will host George Fox University. Match time at Cone Field House is scheduled for 7 p.m. PDT.
