TACOMA, Wash. -- Elizabethtown crossed the country to open its 2018 season on Friday and despite a pair of losses to No. 16 Millikin and No. 22 Pacific Lutheran, there were positives to take away moving forward.

#16 MILLIKIN 3, ELIZABETHTOWN 1
25-18, 21-25, 25-22, 25-19

Sarah Schneider collected a team-high 13 kills, Mackenzie Garner hit .381 and freshman Rileigh Hudock had a double-double in her collegiate debut as the Blue Jays fell 3-1 to the Big Blue.

Millikin, an NCAA regional semifinalist last season, surged out of the gate with 14 kills and a .357 hitting percentage in the first set. The result was a seven-point victory --the largest margin of victory in any of the four sets.

Emily Seegmiller totaled five of her seven kills for Millikin (1-0) in the opening set and Lauren Brummel had four.

The Blue Jays (0-1) responded with a 25-21 win in the second, capitalizing on 14 Millikin errors, including eight service errors. Schneider and freshman Shelly Yohe had three kills apiece in the set, while Katie Kennedy provided two service aces.

Both sides were effective on offense in the third, but it was the Big Blue emerging with a 25-22 win to move within a set of the victory. E-town hit a match-best .211 (11 kills-3 errors-38 attempts), but Millikin countered with a .231 (14-5-39).

Mackenzie Garner carried the Jays early in the set with four straight kills and Schneider came on late to match her classmate with four.

Millikin closed out the match, 25-19, in the fourth with Brummel and Marissa McElroy chipping in six kills each. McElroy also had three blocks (one solo).

Brummel (18 kills) and McElroy (14) combined for two-thirds of the Big Blue's offense. Brummel added 16 digs for a double-double and teammate Rose Syversen just missed one with 32 assists and nine digs.

Hudock had 19 assists and 13 digs for a double-double in her first career match. Schneider missed a double-double by a dig, Aiyana Tietze-Di Toro had 15 digs and Garner generated nine kills against just one error on 21 attempts.


#22 PACIFIC LUTHERAN 3, ELIZABETHTOWN 0
25-23, 25-21, 25-14

Elizabethtown's offense was up to the task against 22nd-ranked Pacific Lutheran, but 24 attacking errors proved too much to overcome against the disciplined Lutes.

Junior outside hitter Elle Shatto totaled 11 kills --the only Blue Jay in double figures-- and Mackenzie Garner completed an errorless match with eight kills on 15 tries (.533).

E-town (0-2) out-killed Pacific Lutheran in each of the first two sets, but the Lutes only committed 10 errors in the entire match to sweep.

Chloe Epker paced PLU (2-0) with nine kills, while Danielle Skibiel (seven kills) and Mackenzie Harris (six) both attacked at better than a .450 clip.

Isabella Zubrod challenged a triple-double with six kills, 18 assists and 11 digs for the Lutes.

Shelly Yohe totaled seven kills and nine digs for the Blue Jays. Marisa Krinock and Schneider each had five kills.


UP NEXT
Elizabethtown closes out play at the Puget Sound Premiere on Saturday by facing Wisconsin-Oshkosh at 12 p.m. EDT and the hosts at 4 p.m. EDT.