PORTLAND, Ore. – Opening with a split of two matches at the Northwest Invitational, the Linfield Wildcats debuted an all-new lineup that featured three freshman starters.

The young Wildcats went tooth-and-nail with Mayville State (N.D.) before falling in a tight fifth set, then rebounded with a three-set sweep of Embry-Riddle (Ariz.).

The Northwest Invitational, co-hosted by Lewis & Clark and George Fox, resumes Sunday at L&C’s Pamplin Sports Complex.

Mayville State def. Linfield 25-18, 17-25, 25-20, 21-25, 19-17
Middle blocker Kelsey Ludin (Jr., Bozeman, Mont.) and outside hitter Kailana Ritte-Camara (Soph., Molokai, Hawaii) each piled up 11 kills and first-year setters Audrey Frazier (Soph., Albany, Ore.) and Mahina Galletes (Soph., Honolulu, Hawaii) both distributed 18 assists for the Wildcats. Samantha Lau led the way defensively with 23 digs.

Linfield hit just .103 for the match, committing a whopping 35 attack errors, 10 service errors and seven ball-handling errors.

Linfield def. Embry-Riddle 25-22, 25-20, 25-17
Ludin successfully converted 10 kills, had three block assists and added pair of service aces, and Leimomi Hookano (Soph., Kaneohe, Hawaii) logged seven kills and five digs to pace the Wildcats to the sweep.

Frazier picked up 27 assists while Lau dug 15 balls.

Linfield hit .160 to Embry-Riddle’s .070.

AHEAD: Linfield faces Edgewood at 11:30 a.m. Sunday and New Hope Christian at 1:30 p.m. as the Northwest Invitational continues.