The Pioneer volleyball team earned a 30-32, 30-21, 30-26, 30-25 victory over the Pacific Boxers Friday night at the Pamplin Sports Center. Sara Kettler had 15 kills and three blocks for the Pioneers. Katherine Fiedler had 14 kills and six blocks.

The tone of the match was set early in game one with both teams coming out to battle. The Pioneers edged out to a six-point advantage, 16-10. The Boxers battled back with three kills by Jill Peacock to pull the visitors within one, 17-16. The Pioneers got a kill from Nicki Smith (senior, Brea, Calif.) to keep their slim lead alive. The Boxers managed to tie the game 25-25 and then take a 26-25 lead on back-to-back kills by Joanna Delanty. A service ace by Leah Collins (senior, Philo, Calif.) gave the Pioneers game point at 29-28, but a Jill Peacock kill tied the game at 30. A kill by Pacific's Joanna Delanty gave the Boxers game point at 31-30. They closed out the game 32-30 on a Pioneer attack error.

Game two was all Pioneers with the Pioneers hitting an impressive .405 in the frame.  Pacific's Jill Peacock provided most of the Boxer offense, logging 6 kills in the game. The Pioneers closed out a 30-21 victory on a kill by Cayley Rassmussen (freshman, San Diego, Calif.) to tie the match 1-1 at the break.

In game three, the two teams battled, with Pacific leading 15-14. The Pioneers scored eight straight points, five of them coming off Pacific errors, to take control of the game with a 21-15 lead. Pacific refused to go away, pulling within three, 27-24 on a kill by Joanna Delanty. Late kills from Nicki Smith and Katherine Fiedler (freshman, San Diego, Calif.) helped the Pioneers hold on for a 30-26 victory.

In game four, the Pioneers jumped out to an early lead, and seemed on their way to closing out the match, holding a 26-16 advantage when the Boxers scored seven straight points, matching a pair of Melissa Dunn kills with several untimely Pioneers errors to suddenly make it a four point game, 26-22. A Melissa Dunn service ace pulled the Boxers to within two, 27-25, when a kill by Katherine Fiedler gave the Pioneers a side-out and a 28-25 advantage. A kill by Nicki Smith set up match point with the game ending on a Boxer attack error.

For the Boxers, Jill Peacock had a game-high 20 kills with nine digs and a block-assist. Joanna Delanty had 14 kills and three blcoks (one solo, two assisted). Melissa Dunn had a doube-double with ten kills and 19 digs.

For the Pioneers, Sara Kettler (senior, Dana Point, Calif.) had 15 kills with just two errors on 26 attempts. One of the most efficient hitters in the NWC, Kettler posted a .500 attack percentage in the game. She also had three blocks (two solo, one assisted), two aces, and four digs. Katherine Fiedler had 14 kills and six blocks (two solo, four assisted). Nicki Smith had 11 kills, seven digs, and a block-assist.

With the win, the Pioneers improve to 5-8 (1-2 NWC). The Boxers fall to 6-4 (1-2 NWC). The Pioneers play at home again Saturday night, taking on the George Fox Bruins. The match begins at 7pm at the Pamplin Sports  Center.

Honorary Coach Judy McMullen poses for a picture with the team after the victory.