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www.linfieldreview.com
sports
September 26, 2011
Volleyball pulls ahead against Whitman Kelsey Sutton Copy chief The women’s volleyball team played hard Sept. 23 and 24, falling back in the first match but winning the second to make them 1-3 Northwest Conference record and 5-7 overall for the season. The Wildcats went up against Whitworth Univer-
sity Sept. 23 and Whitman College Sept. 24 in the first home games of the season. Both Linfield and Whitworth shared back and forth leads, with no more than two point differences until Whitworth pulled ahead, making the match 25-20. Whitworth had a strong lead in the second game but Linfield held its own for most of the
game until Whitworth ended the set 25-20. The two teams struggled for a lead in the third match but Whitworth ended the match with a 25-21 lead in the last set. Senior libero Samantha Lau had a game high of 22 digs while freshman Kailana Ritte-Camara had a successful 21 kills. Freshman Audrey Frazier contributed with a solid 32 assists.
The Wildcats pulled ahead and ended their three match losing streak, defeating Whitman in a five game match Sept. 24. Ritte-Camara highlighted the match with 14 digs and 23 kills, finishing with a teamhigh .242 hitting percentage. Sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Ludin helped the win with 11 kills and six digs. Lau had 31 digs.
Multiple Wildcats tackle La Verne’s ball carrier during the second half of Saturday’s game Sept. 24 at Maxwell Field.
The ‘Cats have a full week ahead with two home matches and one away. The women play Northwest Christian on Sept. 28 and Lewis & Clark on Sept. 30 at home, and Pacific University on Oct. 1 in Forest Grove. All three games are at 7 p.m. Kelsey Sutton can be reached at linfieldreviewcopy@gmail.com.
Joel Ray/Photo editor
Wildcats skin La Verne Leopards Chris Forrer Sports columnist After a difficult season-opening game against a ranked opponent and with a conference showdown with Willamette University looming on Oct. 1, what the No. 06-ranked Linfield football program needed most was a chance to get into rhythm against an opponent that probably wasn’t going to pose a serious threat. The ’Cats got
that and more in a runaway 52-3 blowout victory over the University of La Verne Leopards on Sept. 24. “They’ve got some good players,” head Coach Joseph Smith said. “But they’re a young program that’s developing and not ready to execute at the level necessary to compete with a top-10 team.” The Wildcat defense limited La Verne to 312 yards, only 85 of them on the ground, and kept them out of the end zone for the entire con-
test while piling up six sacks. When it mattered most in late down situations, the ’Cats were particularly ferocious, stuffing the Leopards on four of five fourth-down conversion attempts. “They have some pretty athletic receivers,” senior cornerback Nate Dixon. “We keyed in on them and pretty much got the job done.” Meanwhile, junior quarterback Mickey Inns completed 18 of
27 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns, all career highs, in just less than three quarters of play. Junior receiver Deidre Wiersma was his top target and nabbed seven passes for 102 yards and a score. “We had a big cushion outside and took advantage of that,” Wiersma said. “We wanted to spread it out.” Senior tight end Bryan Anderson started the scoring barrage on a one-yard touchdown run early
in the first quarter. A 34-yard boot by junior kicker Josh Kay boosted the Linfield margin to 10-0, and Inns added scoring strikes of 19 and two yards in the second quarter to sophomore Charlie Poppen and senior Erik Koczian, respectively, to make a formidable 24-0 halftime margin. The ’Cats finished the day with 162 rush >> Please see Football page 15