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 (Jr., Molokai, Hawaii) and Victoria Thompson (Jr., Newberg, Ore.) sharing top honors at 14 each. Kelsey Ludin (Sr., Bozeman, Mont.) added a dozen kills and Leimomi Hookano 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 (Jr., 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 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.