By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Senior outside hitter Natalie Klotz (Bonner Springs, KS/Bonner Springs HS) registered a career-high 28 kills and Willamette University produced 63 kills overall, as the Bearcats defeated visiting George Fox University, 3-1, on Friday, Oct. 1 at Cone Field House. Willamette won 27-17, 25-21, 23-25, 27-25, to improve to 5-5 on the season, 2-3 in the Northwest Conference. George Fox fell to 7-5 overall, 2-4 in the NWC.
Klotz hit .415 for the match, helping the Bearcats attain a .202 team hitting percentage. She broke her previous high of 27 kills, set in a 3-2 win over George Fox on March 19 this past spring.
On Friday evening, the Bearcats hit .302 in the first set and recorded at least 14 kills in every set, including a high of 18 in the fourth. George Fox finished the match with 37 kills and a .131 hitting percentage.
Joining Klotz with double-digit kills for Willamette were Olivia Cadien (Fy., OH, Mesa, AZ/Chandler Preparatory Academy) with 11 and Dani Queja (Jr., OH, Ewa Beach, HI/Maryknoll School) with 10. Cadien added a team-high four service aces, while Queja tied for the team lead with 22 digs.
Shyla Sato (Jr., LIB, Honolulu, HI/MId-Pacific Institute) also earned 22 digs for WU, while Kela Iwata (Sr., LIB, Honolulu, HI/Kalani HS) concluded the match with 15 digs and Steele Jasa (Jr., S/LIB, Bend, OR/Summit HS) supplied 11 digs. Emma Porter (Jr., S, Honolulu, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute) played well as the setter, accumulating 43 assists to go along with eight kills and a .412 hitting percentage.
Addison Robertson contributed 11 kills for the Bruins. Caitlin Nemecek added 10 kills and a .304 attacking percentage. GFU libero Sophia Lawrence provided 23 digs, while Kassandra Staton was credited with 16 digs. Kennedy Kibby finished with 30 assists and nine digs.
Willamette pounded out 17 kills in the first set to grab an early lead with a 25-17 win. WU held a 5-2 edge as the first seven rallies featured two kills each by Cadien and Klotz. GFU tied the score at 5-5 on a kill by Nemecek, but the Bearcats tallied the next three points to start a 9-3 run for a 14-8 lead after a kill from Porter. The Bruins cut the margin to 14-10 with a pair of kills by Olivia Jacobsen. Queja answered for WU by recording a kill and a service ace to open a 7-2 surge that propelled the Bearcats into a 21-12 lead.
In the second set, Willamette took a 7-2 lead that included one kill each by Klotz, Cadien, and Queja. A bit later, Willamette owned a 10-8 margin on a kill from Queja. The Bruins went on a 4-0 run as GFU claimed a 12-10 advantage. The Bruins also led 13-12 before WU moved in front for good with a 5-0 run that featured a kill and a service ace from Cadien, plus a kill by Klotz. George Fox pulled within 20-19 a bit later on a combo block by Kibby and Nemecek. The Bearcats closed out the set with a 5-2 run for a 25-21 victory.
George Fox won the third set to keep the match going. During the third set, the Bruins recorded six service aces and Willamette committed 11 attacking errors. The set was tied at 8-8 on a kill by Cadien, but the Bruins countered with a 7-0 run that included two aces by Kibby. GFU eventually held a 23-12 advantage. Willamette answered with a fierce 11-1 rally that reduced the margin to 24-23 following a kill from Klotz. A kill by Staton gave the Bruins a 25-23 win.
The fourth set involved 11 ties and five lead changes. The Bruins owned a 21-19 lead after 40 rallies, but the Bearcats continued to battle. WU moved within 22-21 on a kill by Caiden, and then GFU scored twice for a 24-21 margin. A kill by Porter and an attacking error by GFU cut the deficit to a single point, and a kill by Klotz tied the set. Staton added a kill to give the Bruins a 25-24 edge, but Klotz earned kills on three consecutive rallies, as Willamette prevailed, 27-25, to end the match.
Willamette will play at Lewis & Clark College in an NWC match on Saturday, Oct. 2. The action is set to begin at 6 p.m. (PDT).
