NEWBERG, Ore. – The Elmhurst volleyball team opened the 2018 season with a pair of losses at the Oregon Trail Tournament.
Elmhurst (0-2) dropped a hard-fought five-set contest to George Fox University in the season opener. The Bluejays closed the day with a four-set loss to Whitworth College.
GEORGE FOX 3, ELMHURST 2 – Elmhurst held off a pair of match points in the fourth set to force a decisive fifth set, but the Bluejays' rally came up short, falling 13-25, 25-17 22-25, 26-24, 14-16 to George Fox in the opening game of the 2018 season.
Elmhurst struggled out of the gate, dropping the first set by 12 points, but the Bluejays surged back in the second. Elmhurst broke open a 10-10 tie with a 9-4 run before evening the match at a set apiece. The Bluejays raced out to an early 10-4 lead in the third, but George Fox answered back, pulling even at 16-all with a 12-6 run. With the score even at 22-22, the Bruins won the next three points to open up a 2-1 set lead.
George Fox opened up a three-point cushion at 17-14 in the fourth set and extended their lead to 23-19. Elmhurst answered back with a 3-0 run to pull to within a point, but a kill from Alyssa Burch gave the Bruins a pair of match points at 24-22. A kill from
Bailey Brouwer and an ace from
Kaye Lesure pulled the Bluejays even at 24-24. An error on George Fox and a block from Brouwer and
Emily Duis gave the Bluejays the set at 26-24.
Elmhurst grabbed 10-7 lead in the fifth, but George Fox used a 6-2 run to take a 13-12 lead. The Bluejays fought off one match point to even the score at 14-14, but a block and an Elmhurst error gave the Bruins the set and the match.
Elmhurst hit .135 for the match with 47 kills and 26 errors in 156 attacks. Brouwer powered Elmhurst's offense in the loss, finishing with 17 kills, three aces and six blocks. Lesure added eight kills, four aces and four blocks while
Ellie Burzlaff totaled seven kills and a block.
Kelly Townsend tallied a team-high 26 assists to go with nine digs while
Katie Davis finished with 17 assists and six digs.
Rachel Shuty led the team in digs with 15 while
Selene Ushela tallied 14.
Danyle Dupray and Burch led George Fox in the victory, totaling 14 kills apiece.
WHITWORTH 3, ELMHURST 1 – Elmhurst fell to 0-2 on the day with a 19-25, 19-25, 29-27, 19-25 loss to Whitworth, closing out the Bluejays' first day at the tournament.
A sluggish start in the opening two sets saw Whitworth run out to a quick two-set lead. The Bluejays totaled just six kills in the opening set and eight in the second while errors continued to mount. The Bluejays battled back in the fourth. Trailing 18-14, the Bluejays managed to pull even at 22-22 with an 8-4 run. Elmhurst then fought off five match points from Whitworth before evening the set at 27-27. Back-to-back kills from
Taylor Zurliene gave Elmhurst the set at 29-27.
Whitworth (2-0) broke open a 12-11 lead in the fourth set with a 7-3 run. Elmhurst came as close as three points down the stretch before Whitworth closed out the set and the match.
The Bluejays finished the match with a .089 hitting percentage, totaling 42 kills and 27 digs in 168 attacks. Brouwer led the Bluejays in the defeat with 18 kills and two blocks. Zurleine added nine kills and nine digs while Townsend and Davis finished with 17 assists apiece. Shuty tallied a team-leading 19 digs while
Kayla Mast finished with 13 digs and
Valerie Thomas totaled 10 digs.
Jessica Schmautz led Whitworth with 18 kills and 16 digs in the win.
Elmhurst plays a pair of matches at Pacific University tomorrow (September 1). The Bluejays will face Whitman College at 10:00 am (PST) before closing out the tournament against Pacific at 12:30 pm (PST).
