PORTLAND, Ore. – Linfield started strong but couldn’t finish when it mattered most. The result was a five-set loss in a winnable battle with favored Lewis & Clark Friday night at Pamplin Sports Complex.

The Wildcats dropped to 4-9 in the Northwest Conference and 9-13 overall following a heart-wrenching 17-25, 26-24, 23-25, 25-21, 15-5 defeat.

It was a night when a lot of things went right for the Wildcats. Three ‘Cats reached double-digits in kills, with Kailana Ritte-Camara (Soph., Molokai, Hawaii) and Victoria Thompson (Soph., Newberg, Ore.) sharing top honors at 14 each. Kelsey Ludin (Jr., Bozeman, Mont.) added a dozen kills and Leimomi Hookano (Soph., Kaneohe, Hawaii) came through with eight. Linfield accounted for 11 more kills (56-45) and digs (87-76) in the match, but the young Wildcats also were responsible for eight more errors than the host Pioneers. For the match, Linfield held a slight edge in attack percentage, .087 to .073.

Linfield came out hot in the first set, hitting .266 to L&C’s .000. But the Wildcats cooled after that. By the fifth and deciding set, Linfield piled up 10 errors against only four kills, losing 15-5. The ‘Cats also coughed up seven service errors to the Pioneers’ three and were whistled for four ball-handling errors.

Wildcats setter Audrey Frazier (Soph., Albany, Ore.) passed four 44 assists, dug eight balls while adding a pair of kills, libero Samantha Lau picked up 22 digs, two assists and an ace, and Bethany Dickey (Sr., Sheridan, Ore.) scooped up 15 digs to anchor the back row.

Brigette Russo totaled a team-high 10 kills and had a hand in eight blocks for Lewis & Clark, which improved its season record to 13-10 and 9-4 in conference action. Setter Leia Matsunaga had 36 assists along with 16 digs. Elena Hoff finished with a match-high 25 digs.

COMING UP: Linfield hosts Pacific in a Saturday night matchup starting at 7 o’clock at Ted Wilson Gym.