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

SALEM, ORE. -- Linfield College won the first two sets and then held off a rally by Willamette University, as the Wildcats prevailed 3-1 in a Northwest Conference volleyball match on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at Cone Field House. The Wildcats won 25-19, 25-17, 23-25, 28-26.

With the win, Linfield upped its record to 2-4 on the season, 1-0 in the NWC. Willamette fell to 5-5 overall, 0-1 in the NWC.

Linfield surged out to a 9-2 lead in the first set let by the serving of Casie Gaza, who registered two aces during a string of eight consecutive serves. The Bearcats battled back to cut the margin to 10-9 following a kill by Sarah Fincher (Jr., OH, Reno, NV/Bishop Manogue HS/Southwest Baptist Univ.).

The Wildcats registered the next two points on kills by Jamie Talbo for a 12-9 edge. Talbo finished the match with 19 kills, to go along with 22 assists and 14 digs.

Willamette put together a 3-0 run to tie the score and also achieved a tie at 13-13, but the Wildcats used a kill by Danielle Spirlin and a combo block by Spirlin and Victoria Thompson for a 15-13 lead. Linfield stayed in front the rest of the set, building a 22-16 advantage with a 4-0 run and winning 25-19.

The Bearcats owned a 5-3 advantage in the second set after a kill by Alexa Becker (Fr., OH, El Dorado Hills, CA/Rider University). The Bearcats were in front 7-6 after a Linfield attacking error, but the Wildcats tallied the next four points to start a 6-1 run for a 12-8 margin.

Back-to-back kills by Fincher reduced the lead to 12-10. A bit later, Linfield extended a 14-12 lead by scoring four unanswered points and went on to win 25-17.

Willamette led for much of the third set. Two kills by Fincher and one by Taylor Gee (Sr., MH/OH, San Diego, CA/Rancho Bernardo HS) helped WU create a 6-3 advantage. The Bearcats were tied at 9-9, but led 12-10 following a kill by Alida Holt (So., OH, Honolulu, HI/Roosevelt HS).

The score also was tied at 14-14, before WU added two points on a kill by Lindsey Compton (Jr., OH/S, Portola, CA/Portola HS/Univ. of Hartford) and a kill by Fincher. The Bearcats eventually held a 20-15 lead following a kill from Alexa Dowdell (So., MH/OPP, Mililani, HI/Maryknoll HS).

WU kept the lead until the end of the third set, but the Wildcats pulled within 24-23 before the Bearcats earned the final point of the set on an assisted block by Fincher and Emma Liband (Fr., MH, Sandpoint, ID/Sandpoint HS).

Linfield was in front 8-3 in the fourth set, and later owned an 11-4 margin. Willamette erased much of the lead with a 6-1 run. The Wildcats countered with a 5-0 run of their own to advance the score to 17-10.

After a setting error by Linfield, the Bearcats scored six straight points behind the serving of Becker, who started the run with three aces. One of the aces was on a Linfield rotation error. A kill by Compton was followed by a block from Fincher and Taylor Lum (So., MH/OH, Honolulu, HI/Maryknoll HS). An attacking error by the Wildcats and a kill by Fincher tied the score at 17-17.

The next three points went to Linfield for a 20-17 lead, and Willamette eventually achieved a 23-23 tie on a block by Gee and Holt. The Bearcats committed errors on their next two serves, but earned kills from Dowdell on the next rally each time to keep pace with Linfield.

After the score was 25-25, the Wildcats moved in front on a setting error by the Bearcats. WU claimed another tie with a kill by Holt. Linfield earned the 28-26 win with kills form Kailana Ritte-Camara and Caiti Barrrie.

Talbo's triple-double led the Wildcats. Spirlin and Ritte-Camara added 10 kills each, while Barrie finished with nine. Gaza added 27 assists, while libero Courtney Uyeda led Linfield with 15 digs. The Wildcats produced a .295 team hitting percentage.

Fincher ended the match with 14 kills for the Bearcats. Holt contributed 10 kills and Compton supplied 42 assists. Becker and Peyton Wahl (Fr., DS/LIB, Richland, WA/Richland HS) each totaled 13 digs. The Bearcats hit .219, but had 14 fewer digs and 14 fewer kills than the Wildcats.

The Bearcats will return to action on Friday, Sept. 19 with an NWC match at Lewis & Clark College. Match time in Portland, Ore., is set for 7 p.m. (PDT).