Box Score No. 19 Colorado College began its 17th consecutive NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship appearance with 3-1 win over No. 20 Pacific Lutheran University on Friday afternoon on the campus of Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, Calf.
 
With the victory, the Tigers improved to 30-8 on the season, which marks the fifth time in the last six seasons that CC has hit the 30-win mark.
 
Sophomore Abbe Holtze, a first-team AVCA West Region selection, led the Tigers with 21 kills on a .360 hitting percentage with just three errors in 50 attempts. She also added 17 digs to mark her 22nd double-double of the season.
 
The Tigers powered through the first set beating the Lutes, 25-18, but Pacific Lutheran came back in the second set to tie the match with a close 27-25 win.
 
Midway through the third set with CC holding a 12-10 lead, sophomore Rebecca Watson set Holtze up to earn her 500th kill of the season. The outside hitter entered the match with 485 kills and now has 506 kills this season to be only the second player in program history to earn 500 or more kills in a single season. Katharine Hauschka set the single-season record in 2004 with 537 kills.
 
The Tigers went on to win the third set, 25-23.
 
CC's offense dominated in the fourth set putting down 18 kills on a .364 hitting percentage with just two errors in 44 attempts to earn a 25-19 win in the final set to take the victory.  
 
Junior Courtney Birkett had a solid performance for the Tigers picking up her eighth double-double of the season by tying her career-high 22 digs and adding 13 kills.
 
Senior Kristen Liberty was also a force at the net with 12 kills and a team-high six blocks. Junior Sophie Merrifield led the back row with 27 digs, while Watson orchestrated the offense with 33 assists.  
 
Colorado College will face the winner of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor match on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. PT.